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BBC’s Ukraine War Documentary Hell Jumper Wins International Emmy for Best Documentary
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A BBC documentary chronicling the experience of a British volunteer in Ukraine has won the 2025 International Emmy Award for Best Documentary, BBC reported on November 26.
The film, Hell Jumper, tells the story of 28-year-old Chris Parry, a former software developer who traveled from the United Kingdom to Ukraine in 2022 to assist in civilian evacuations from frontline towns.
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The documentary was produced by Expectation TV and directed by Paddy Wivell, with Adriana Timko—of Moldovan and Ukrainian heritage—as its producer.
According to BBC, Hell Jumper received the award during the 53rd International Emmy Awards held in New York on November 25.
The Emmys recognize television productions created outside the United States. This year’s competition featured 56 nominees from 26 countries across 16 categories.
The documentary originally premiered at the 2025 BAFTA Awards and also received two distinctions at the Prix Italia festival.
The film follows Parry and his colleagues as they drive into war zones in eastern Ukraine, where they conduct self-funded missions to extract civilians from areas under heavy shelling. In January 2023, Parry and 48-year-old fellow volunteer Andrew Bagshaw were killed during an operation near Soledar.
At the time, the UK Ministry of Defence stated that both men were killed by artillery fire while attempting to evacuate an elderly woman.
However, according to BBC, Bagshaw’s family later claimed in January 2024 that he had been executed—his body reportedly showed wounds consistent with gunshots to the torso and head. The family suggested the attack may have been carried out by members of the Wagner Group.
Hell Jumper features first-person footage and accounts from Parry and other international volunteers. A description from BBC notes: “Courage, love and loss. Young people risk their lives on self-funded missions, rescuing families in frontline towns in Ukraine. The story is told in their own words and through unique first-person footage.”
Parry had previously worked in the tech sector and engaged in extreme sports, including skydiving, climbing, and long-distance cycling. He reportedly helped evacuate over 400 civilians and numerous abandoned animals before his death.
Earlier, Ukrainian director Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk’s Silent Flood won the Best Cinematography Award at the 2025 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), with the jury praising its unified visual style and portrayal of a pacifist religious community enduring both natural floods and the impact of war.
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