Is Oscar for 20 Days in Mariupol really deserved?

Lena Chichenina, an art critic, film critic, and Espreso journalist, spoke about this.

"This kind of speculation has been rampant. However, if you abstract and look at it objectively, it is a really strong, very well shot and edited movie. Speaking of reviews, there are review aggregator sites, such as IMDb, where movies are posted. People from all over the world leave comments and ratings. Later, an average is calculated. For a long time, the movie 20 Days in Mariupol had a score of 100 out of 100. No one forced people to write this. These are not Ukrainians, but foreigners who just watched the movie. Everyone is extremely passionate about this work. So this award is not out of pity, not because we are at war, it is absolutely deserved," she said.

Our documentaries are often incomprehensible to foreigners. But this film explains to everyone what Russia is. Director Mstyslav Chernov shows the manipulations of the Russian media in the film.

"There are excerpts from Russian news, where Lavrov, for example, says that these are all actors when it comes to the destruction of the maternity hospital. Chernov proves the opposite in his footage, showing women in labor. Also, the extraordinary circumstances in the movie are half the battle. The movie is effective, fascinating, not manipulative. The context is very well presented," the Espreso journalist added.

• The Ukrainian film 20 Days in Mariupol won an Oscar, the first in the history of the Ukrainian state.