Ukrainian war correspondent, writer, and director Mstyslav Chernov has won an award at the Sundance Film Festival for his documentary "2,000 Meters to Andriivka". He received the prize for Best Directing in the Documentary category.

Details: The description on the festival's website states that the journalist "follows a Ukrainian platoon on their mission to traverse one mile of heavily fortified forest and liberate a strategic village from Russian occupation. But the farther they advance through their destroyed homeland, the more they realise that this war may never end."

Quote from Indian screenwriter Sudeep Sharma: "Surrounded by mines and only accessible through a tiny sliver of wooded land that is fought over meter by meter, the village of Andriivka, Ukraine, lies in ruins. Following 20 Days in Mariupol (2023 Sundance Film Festival), Ukrainian director and journalist Mstyslav Chernov returns with a stunning portrayal of life in the trenches, and in the battle for this one small place, the desperate struggle against Russia to free the Ukrainian nation.

In this picture of total war – from the command centres leading the soldiers to the funerals for those who lost their lives and the brutal combat by people who only a few years ago were civilians – Chernov has created a remarkable film about the terrible beauty in liberating one’s home while also unflinchingly looking at the futility and horror of war itself."

Background:

• The film 2,000 Meters to Andriivka by Chernov, who won an Oscar for his previous work 20 Days in Mariupol, was produced with the support of AP and PBS Frontline.
• According to the festival’s schedule, the film is available for online viewing from 30 January to 2 February and for special press and industry screenings from 29 January to 2 February.
• The film is set during Ukraine’s 2023 counteroffensive.

Source: pravda.com.ua