“These are real people, real faces, real lives.”

At our event "Films Change the World" we had the opportunity to speak to Mstyslav Chernov, Ukrainian journalist and filmmaker. Chernov’s Oscar-winning film 20 Days in Mariupol has made waves around the world as it offers an unflinching, firsthand account of the atrocities of the Russian invasion, capturing some of the most defining images of the war—dying children, mass graves, and the bombing of a maternity hospital. The film follows a team of Ukrainian journalists, including Chernov, as they are trapped in the besieged city, documenting the harrowing realities of the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It stands as the first, and so far only, testament to the real horrors experienced by the people of Mariupol and Ukraine, shedding light on the human cost of the ongoing war.

In an intimate conversation we spoke about the power of documentary filmmaking to reveal the brutal truth of war, about the resilience of the Ukrainian people and about Chernov's newest film 2000 Meters to Andriivka.

Your profession lies in news journalism and originally, you went to Mariupol as a journalist. What made you decide to make a documentary out of the horrific footage you’ve recorded?

I would say as a journalist, especially, I know how even the most important stories disappear from our horizon, because there is just so much happening. So much is happening in the war in Ukraine, but also around the world and with these massive waves of information, things that are important to me, things that are important for the history of my country and maybe humanity, they just get lost. 
So I felt that probably the only way to preserve what was important to me, but also what was important for the people that I kept filming for such a long time, is to make a film about it. Because film - whether it's a documentary film or a fiction film - is just a longer lasting form. And the further we go from the event, the more important it is to set the history straight. Especially in times that we call "post-truth" or "the time of misinformation". So it is very important that these records exist and they are available to a large audience.

Especially in times of, how you mentioned, post-truth and misinformation, how did you keep the balance between journalistic objectivity and your subjective sentiments - especially witnessing what you have witnessed. 

I think to reach the modern audiences, you still have to be very, very personal. Because that makes the story relatable to people. When you try to tell a story about everything, you just don't reach the audience. It always has to be personal. That doesn't mean that your own emotion has to influence the audience. And that's where this thin line is lying, that makes us keep watching. And for me as a Ukrainian film director, of course it is hard to keep my emotions inside me. But I do have amazing producers from the front line, I do have an amazing editor - Michelle Mizner. They're all helping me to keep the vision clear. And I can see, in both 20 Days in Mariupol and 2000 Meters to Andriivka, how the audiences appreciate that we are not imposing our own emotions or our opinions on them. And that goes far. The trust goes far.

The war has been going on for over three years now. How do you assess the current situation with new negotiations happening? Are there moments of hope for you?

There are always moments of hope. And just speaking from the experience of the most terrible moments in our society and from my country, and I can see that the worse things are, the closer people work together, the more they rely on each other and on the community. 

So although it’s an unlikely event, but even if the whole world would abandon Ukraine, Ukrainians will still be together. And that is their strength. And that is the strength of probably every nation, every real nation. And that is such an important thing to show and to dig into. 
If you are a documentary filmmaker, that's what our films should be about.

You do have a new film: 2000 Meters to Andriivka. What is the film about and what do you want to achieve with the film?

I know for certain that the world is going to keep talking about Ukraine. About negotiations going forward or not going forward - there always will be conversations whether Ukrainians should give away their land, whether they should fight for their land. That's what my new film is about. It is about that land, it is about those meters and those names of cities and villages that we just see on the maps. But actually they're not just names on the maps, they are real cities, they are our homes. They're not just meters on the map or lines on the scale, they are someone's lives, the lives of the people who are fighting for their places. So I hope that this film will honor people who are fighting in Ukraine right now, for the place that I call home.

But as well it aims to give the broader context to people around the world what that fight actually means.

Is there a specific audience that you want to reach? Who do you want to watch the film and which impact could your film have? 

The films I am making are not political. They are more, I would say, humanitarian. 
They are about real people, real faces, real lives, and cities. Those are not bargaining chips for politicians. Those are not lines in contracts. Those are not TV shows that are competing on the TV. This is reality. So that's exactly what I want to achieve. I want it to be real for people who are talking about life changing - history changing - decisions. That these decisions have to be made with a well informed mind, with an understanding that these decisions are made about real people and places that are very, very personal.

We dearly thank Mstyslav Chernov for his incredible work and for taking the time to talk to us. We can’t wait to see his new film.