“I wish I had never made this film”: fair and powerful words for 20 days in Mariupol, the first Oscar in the history of Ukraine

February 2022. Ukrainian reporters trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol filmed the brutality of the Russian invasion. Close to civilians, director Mstislav Chernov bears decisive witness to the reality of the war that is destroying his country. Result ? A powerful 20 days in Mariupol is available to stream for free on the platform of France Télévisionswhich recently won the Oscar for Best Documentary.

In a powerful speech, thankfully uninterrupted by a traditional musical refrain calling for the victors to leave the stage, the filmmaker had strong words about the conflict that has been going on for more than two years now, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24. , 2022. Human loss, difficult to determine, According to Kiev, there could be 50,000 civilian deaths, half of them in the city of Mariupol alone..

“I wish I had never made this movie”

“Thank you for making this film with me. Thank you for helping me on this journey. This is the first Oscar in the history of Ukraine. And I am honored.

It’s an honor, but I’ll probably be the first director on that stage to say, ‘I wish I’d never made this movie.’ I would trade that for a Russia that would never attack Ukraine, that would never occupy our cities.

I want Russia to be condemned for killing tens of thousands of my fellow Ukrainians. I wish they would release all the hostages, all the soldiers guarding their lands, all the civilians who are now in their prisons. But I can’t change history, I can’t change the past.

“Cinema creates memories, and memories create history”

But together we, and you, who are among the most talented people in the world, can ensure that history is restored, that the truth prevails, and that the people of Mariupol and those who gave their lives are never forgotten.

Because cinema creates memories, and memories create history. Thank you to everyone. Thanks to Ukraine. Glory to Ukraine.

Words that echo the words of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opponent who died on February 16, whose few words opened a montage of tributes to the year’s lost.