“A brave, visceral, merciless masterpiece... Feels like a cinematic siege of the soul.”

— Ed Vulliamy, The Guardian

“Riveting… A strikingly immediate record of citizens under siege.”

— DENNIS HARVEY, Variety

“A provocative, emotionally devastating work that proves just how powerful the meshing of journalistic and cinematic worlds can truly be.”

— JOSHUA BRUNSTING, CriterionCast

“A fearless, front-line witness to history… a salute to the enduring resilience of a people who refuse to surrender their home.”

— ALLAN HUNTER, Screen Daily

ABOUT THE FILM

An AP team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggle to continue their work documenting atrocities of the Russian invasion. As the only international reporters who remain in the city, they capture what later become defining images of the war: dying children, mass graves, the bombing of a maternity hospital, and more.

After nearly a decade covering international conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine war, for The Associated Press, 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL is Mstyslav Chernov’s first feature film. The film draws on Chernov’s daily news dispatches and personal footage of his own country at war. It offers a vivid, harrowing account of civilians caught in the siege, as well as a window into what it’s like to report from a conflict zone, and the impact of such journalism around the globe.