AP-Frontline doc ‘20 Days in Mariupol’ debuts at Sundance

The AP-Frontline documentary “20 Days in Mariupol,” a harrowing retelling of the Russian siege of the city, made its world premiere Friday, Jan. 20, at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

AP video journalist Mstyslav Chernov, who directed the film, and colleagues Evgeniy Maloletka and Vasilisa Stepanenko, attended the film’s premiere and addressed the audience following the screening.

“What we showed you is maybe one percent of what was really happening,” Chernov said. “I still feel guilty for not being able to capture everything or show everything.”

“That propels you to do more,” he added.

Based on the AP team’s reporting, “20 Days in Mariupol” chronicles the early days of Russia’s invasion of the port city. The only remaining international journalists inside, they documented what would become defining images of the Russia-Ukraine war: dying children, mass graves, the shelling of a maternity hospital and more.

Read the AP news story.