Mstyslav Chernov wraps up producion on 2023 counteroffensive documentary

Filmmaker and war reporter Mstyslav Chernov is finishing work on a new documentary about Ukraine's 2023 counteroffensive. He said this on October 3 during the Kyiv Media Week 2024, reports Detector Media.

Mstyslav Chernov is currently editing the footage in the USA. "Now we sleep in the editing room," he said.

According to the director, finding funding for a war film abroad is quite difficult even when you have contacts and a reputation.

Mstyslav Chernov. Edit by the IMI

"Investors are too afraid to invest at the production stage if the star or the director may get killed. It is much easier to find money for the finished product," Mstyslav added.

His previous film "20 Days in Mariupol" received the Pulitzer Prize, the Directors Guild of America Award, the BAFTA Award, and an Oscar.

Photographer Yevhen Maloletka and producer, journalist Vasylisa Stepanenko also worked on the film.

Chernov, Maloletka and Stepanenko spent 20 days in Mariupol and managed to evacuate. They reported on the developments in the city as it was beseiged by Russian troops, filming the ruin caused by the shelling, the doctors working in local hospitals, the numerous civilian victims.