Images of War: 20 Days in Mariupol
More than 100 guests attend screening of highly acclaimed documentary
Posted in: Alumni News and Events
Getting a sobering glimpse of the atrocities of war, more than 100 guests gathered in Presentation Hall in the School of Communication and Media on Montclair State University campus on March 7 for a screening of 20 Days in Mariupol, the Academy Award® winner for best documentary feature film by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mstyslav Chernov.
The film is a vivid and harrowing account of the besieged city of Mariupol during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as documented by a team of Ukrainian journalists from The Associated Press. As the only international reporters remaining in the city, they capture what later became the defining images of the war in Ukraine: dying children, mass graves, the bombing of a maternity hospital, and more.
The screening was made possible through the efforts of Jacquie Colgan, who serves as a Bloomfield College of Montclair State University Advisory Board member and is active in a number of humanitarian organizations, including Nantucket Cares and the American Coalition for Ukraine.
“This film shares firsthand accounts of civilians caught in the war zone and gives us a glimpse into the dangers of reporting during such conflict,” said Colgan in her remarks.
Panel shares personal stories
Following the 95-minute film, which brought many in the audience to tears, there was a panel discussion moderated by renowned scholar and psychologist Pavlo Lushyn, research professor of Educational Foundations at Montclair, who fled Ukraine in 2022. Joining him were Marianna Tretiak, president of the American Coalition for Ukraine and national advocacy chair of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America along with Michael Levdanski, who shared how his family – having predicted the volatility – escaped Mariupol after remaining hidden for weeks in a bunker they built in their basement.
About the film
Made in partnership with The Associated Press, 20 Days in Mariupol has had a decorated run on the 2023 film festival circuit – including winning the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary. It received this year’s award for best documentary feature film in the Academy Awards of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences held March 10, as well as the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for Best Documentary.
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.