Film Academy to return 20 Days in Mariupol and Chernov’s speech to the international TV version of the Oscars
Initially, the awards ceremony was cut from the shortened international TV version, as Disney explained, “due to time constraints.”
Due to the time difference between the US and Europe (in Ukraine, the full version could be watched only at 1 a.m.), the Academy sends out an international 90-minute version (usually with 12-15 categories instead of 23) so that viewers can watch the ceremony in prime time. At the same time, when Suspilne (the official broadcaster of the Oscars in Ukraine) received the video, it turned out that the Best Documentary category, where the Ukrainian film20 Days in Mariupolwon, was missing, as was the powerful speech by director Mstislav Chernov.
Disney claimed that the list of categories for the shortened version was chosen in advance, and all the missed winners were presented in a “summary”.
“Last year, the documentary category was included in the 90-minute international version, as was Yulia Navalnaya’s political speech. I don’t really believe that Disney is planning the script without taking into account the winners’ predictions – it doesn’t sound convincing for a highly effective show. “20 Days in Mariupol is not only an outstanding documentary, it is a unique testimony to Russian crimes, and the whole team risked their lives to make it,” said Lukyan Galkin, executive producer of Suspilne Culture TV channel, in a statement to Deadline comments.
The National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine also sent a strong statement to Disney CEO Bob Iger and Chairman of the Board Mark Parker:
“Today, all democracies in the world are looking for any opportunity to resist military aggression that threatens peace. And your employees decide to remove the segment with the awarding of the prize to journalists for a full-length documentary film that tells about the horrors of war… We find it hard to believe that this decision of the studio’s employees was a politically motivated decision agreed upon by the company’s management.”
According to Deadline, the Academy eventually agreed to update the shortened international TV version and send it to global licensees (not just UA:PBC).
“20 Days in Mariupol is the first Ukrainian film in the history of Ukraine to win an Oscar in one of the main categories. The film tells the story of the siege of Mariupol in February-March 2022 – the Associated Press team, who were the last journalists in the city at the time, documented the siege and the humanitarian catastrophe it caused, the work of doctors, the bombing of a maternity hospital, mass graves of dead civilians, and other crimes committed by Russians. The film was directed by Mstyslav Chernov, photographed by Yevhen Malolietka, and produced by Vasylisa Stepanenko, all three of whom won the Pulitzer Prize.
“I will probably be the first director on this stage to say that I wish I had never made this movie. If only I could stop it – if only Russia would never attack Ukraine, never occupy our cities. I would have given everything to stop Russia from killing tens of thousands of my fellow Ukrainians. I would like to see all hostages, all soldiers defending their lands and all imprisoned civilians released,” said the film’s director Mstislav Chernov during his Oscar speech.
“20 Days in Mariupol has also become the highest-grossing documentary in Ukraine, with a total of UAH 2.2 million to date. After winning the award, Chernov’s film was returned to the Ukrainian cinema and is soon to be released on such platforms as Kyivstar TV, sweet.tv, Megogo, Takflix, and Volia TV.
Abroad, 20 Days in Mariupol is available on Apple TV and Amazon Prime. It is available on Google Play, Microsoft Movies & TV, and other digital platforms.
