20 Days in Mariupol screened first time in Thailand

This is reported by the press service of the Embassy of Ukraine in Thailand.

As part of the annual EU Film Festival, the first screening of Mstyslav Chernov's film 20 Days in Mariupol took place in Bangkok on May 20. A full house gathered to watch the Oscar-winning film about the siege of the Ukrainian port city by the Russian criminal army, which proves the great interest of the public.

"This powerful documentary captivated the audience with its emotional storytelling and honest portrayal of the resilience and courage shown during the difficult days of the siege of Mariupol. The stories of those who withstood incredible hardships deserve to be told," the embassy noted.

Before the screening, Charge d'Affaires of Ukraine Pavlo Orel addressed the audience and emphasized the critical role of the film in raising awareness of the international community about Russia's unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine.

This year, the film won the first Oscar for Ukraine. It won in the Best Feature Documentary nomination.

Later, Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs showed a video interview with Volodymyr Nikulin, deputy chief of the Donetsk police department, who became one of the main characters in Mstyslav Chernov's Oscar-winning documentary 20 Days in Mariupol and helped the film crew leave the besieged city.

Mstyslav Chernov, a war correspondent and director of the film 20 Days in Mariupol, said that it was painful to create the film throughout the entire process.

On February 18, the film 20 Days in Mariupol won the Best Documentary Award at the British BAFTA Awards.

The documentary was also ranked 4th in the UK and 6th in the US in The Guardian's lists of best films. IndieWire, a media specializing in the film industry and film reviews, also named the best feature films and documentaries of 2023. It gathered the opinions of 158 film critics from around the world, and 20 Days in Mariupol was among the top 10 best documentaries of the year.