Mstyslav Chernov’s “2000 Meters to Andriivka” Loses Best Documentary at Gotham Awards to Film on Russian Journalism

At the 35th Gotham Awards in 2025, which traditionally kicks off the film awards season in the United States, Mstyslav Chernov's documentary about the Russian-Ukrainian war was defeated by a film focused on “independent Russian journalism.”

According to Deadline on December 1, Chernov's film 2000 Meters to Andriivka did not win the Best Documentary Film award, which went instead to My Undesirable Friends: Part I – The Last Air in Moscow, a film by American director of Russian descent Julia Loktev.

The film by Loktev tells the story of Russian independent journalists who have faced government persecution and fled Russia after the invasion.

As reported by Deadline, in November, the film about journalists labeled as "foreign agents" by Putin's regime won the Indie Film Site Network Advocate Award, beating several major Oscar contenders.

Chernov’s nominated film chronicles the journey of a Ukrainian platoon assigned to cross a heavily defended stretch of forest in order to liberate a strategically important village from Russian control. The documentary follows a journalist embedded with the soldiers, capturing their harrowing journey through a war-torn landscape. As they advance deeper into their homeland, they are confronted with the grim realization that this war may never truly end.

Read more

Category

Anti-Fake

How Russian Propaganda Slips into Prestigious Festivals, Pushing Kremlin Narratives Even Now

Oct 07, 2024 17:01

Filming for the project began in September 2023, and the production spanned almost a year and a half. Similar to Chernov’s previous acclaimed works, 2000 Meters to Andriivka is a collaborative effort between Frontline and the Associated Press, dedicated to documenting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier, the Ukrainian Oscar Committee chose Mstyslav Chernov's documentary 2,000 Meters to Andriivka as Ukraine's official entry for the 98th Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category.

Truth is Under Attack

Help our reporters investigate lies, verify facts, and deliver truth from Ukraine’s frontlines.

DEFEND THE TRUTH