This image released by the Sundance Institute shows Evgeny Maloletka in a scene from ’20 Days in Mariupol,’ an official selection of the World Documentary Competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
Mstislav Chernov’s documentary “20 Days in Mariupol”, a first-person account of the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, won the audience award for World Cinema Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival. Juries for the various categories at the festival announced the winners at an awards ceremony on Friday in Park City, Utah.
“I want to thank everyone who believed in us: AP, Frontline and Sundance and all the viewers who didn’t turn away,” Chernov said. “It’s not an achievement, it’s a privilege.”
Photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, from left, “Frontline” producer/editor Michel Mizner, director Mstislav Chernov, and field producer Vasilisa Stepanenko pose for a portrait to promote the film ’20 Days in Mariupol’ at the Latinx House during the Sundance Film Festival posed | photo credit: Taylor Jewell
“20 Days in Mariupol” was a joint project between The Associated Press and PBS “Frontline” and consisted of 30 hours of footage shot by Chernov and his comrades in the city under siege, before they escaped. were taken out.
Other audience award winners included “The Persian Version” for US Dramatic, “Beyond Utopia” for US Documentary, and “Maybe” for World Cinema Dramatic. The “festival favorite” award went to “Radical,” starring Eugenio Derbez as an inspirational teacher in a Mexican border town.
In total, 12 films premiered in the World Cinema Documentary section, including films about climate change, Syria, growing up during apartheid, and the International Chopin Piano Competition. “The Eternal Memory,” about a couple dealing with Alzheimer’s, won the category’s grand jury prize.
Other award winners in the category included “Magnificent Machine” for creative vision, “Against the Tide” for Truth Filmmaker, and “Some Sauna Sisterhood” for directing.