It is the kind of award you dream of. Yet, paraphrasing war reporter and director Mstyslav Chernov, holding the statue in the picture, it is also the award you wish you would never receive.
Well-spoken, elegant, and accompanied by photographer Yevhen Maloletka, producer Vasilisa Stepanenko, and others, Chernov made it clear that no one wants to make a movie that shows Russian terrorism and human suffering in full view.
From razing the city of Mariupol to the ground to forcing its residents to hunt for food, the scenes featured in 20 Days in Mariupol are scary watch.
But as Chernov himself put it, it’s how it must be: scary.
The speech delivered last night in Los Angeles was a stark difference, both verbal and visual, compared to 2023 when a documentary about the now-murdered Alexey Navalny claimed the prize.
The Ukrainians and their foreign colleagues dressed exclusively in black with little to no accessories made it clear: it was not an occasion of vanity, but an acknowledgment of the horrors seen and shown to others.
It was never quite clear why the Oscar was presented to Navalny that year.
Perhaps, there was still hope that this move could somehow boost Russian society and precipitate change, none of which happened even following his outrageous murder.
While I no longer believe that it makes sense to vilify the Russian opposition to Putin due to Navalny’s murder, — even though I see no point in cooperation either as Navalnaya made it clear that her number one goal is to fundraise for his NGO — it is also heartwarming that the West has not been enchanted by the “good Russian” concept. Instead choosing to remind everyone of the horrors of Russia’s war on Ukraine here and now.
This is paramount as such is human nature: to forget and move on to other issues. Alas, there’s no shortage of them, and the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which for some time eclipsed war news from Ukraine, only serves to underscore it.
I will, however, never forget the feelings I had in February-March 2022 when several of my friends were worried sick while their relatives were stuck in the cellars of Mariupol unable to leave the city incessantly bombed by occupiers, not ‘liberators.’
Both were in complete despair as all the communication channels were out. One of them was forced to check on her parents, whose apartment was turned into dust, through a Moscow-based yoga companion. She knew one of the “liberators” and in an almost demonic twist of fate, he was ‘kind enough’ to find them and feed them before they eventually escaped for a hefty sum.
Many others, possibly one-third of the once flourishing city, were not as lucky.
Some are now rotting in the ground while others are living with the occupiers by their side. Which of the two is worse ultimately comes down to one’s understanding of whether it is worth living in captivity and the very Dostoevsky-like environment of gutter, arbitrariness, and the sense of total futility.
Chernov’s documentary shows what this world looks like in real life, not on Penguin classics’ pages.
There’s another important message to Ukraine’s Oscar triumph.
During his speech, Chernov subtly criticized some Western directors who undertake bizarre attempts to either reconcile Ukrainians and Russians on screen — or generally mention them in the same context for no specific reason.
Unfortunately, I also noticed it just recently when watching Guy Ritchie’s “The Gentlemen”. Though a fantastic series that I’d recommend to anyone who appreciates good dialogue and exquisite costumery, it did strike me that in Episode 1 “Refined Aggression”, one of the lead characters Susie Glass told her accomplice the “Gentleman” Edward Horniman at an underground boxing match that the “Russians are happily sitting next to the Ukrainians.”
It is unclear what the purpose of that remark was given the bloodshed — other than equalizing all eastern Europeans and somehow suggesting that the two are hanging out with each other regardless of the war.
Looking ahead, however, it is not criticism, even where justified, that Ukraine must be focusing on at the moment. Rather, we need to capitalize on this opportunity to invigorate Ukraine’s communication efforts which have been shaky lately. This includes Ukraine First Lady Olena Zelenska’s recent decision to snub Joe Biden’s State of the Union address as a result of not wanting to sit next to Navalnaya.
Every high-profile communication opportunity to deliver your message with a multi-million audience not seized on is a missed opportunity. Period.
Ukraine cannot afford that and must ramp up its efforts as the US elections loom and the return of Donald Trump to the White House becomes more plausible and the prospect of American aid — increasingly vague.
There may be no other chances left.