Oscar-Winning Documentary “20 Days in Mariupol” Wins Septimius Award in the Netherlands

On August 20, the Ukrainian documentary “20 Days in Mariupol,” directed by Mstyslav Chernov, was awarded “Best Feature Documentary” at the Septimius Awards in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The film crew, represented at the ceremony by Ukrainian journalist and producer Vasilisa Stepanenko, received recognition for their courageous reporting during the early days of the Russian invasion. Stepanenko took the stage alongside Anastasia, a woman who had been in the Mariupol perinatal center during the Russian bombings, pregnant with her son at the time.

“It’s a great honor to be on stage today, and it’s a great honor to be here with this family. Anastasia was pregnant with her son when the Russians bombed the maternity hospital. Today, he is almost three years old, just like this war. The full-scale invasion continues. Now, the Netherlands has become a temporary home for them, and I will return tomorrow to continue reporting, to tell these important stories. Thanks to you and the films, we can amplify their voices. And people will unite and continue their work. I believe this can make the world a better place,” Stepanenko stated in her speech.

“20 Days in Mariupol” shows the first weeks of heavy fighting and the early days of the siege of Mariupol, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, during Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

The documentary was a collaborative effort by director and photographer Mstyslav Chernov, photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, and producer and journalist Vasilisa Stepanenko. Three of them were the last journalists to document the initial devastation of Mariupol, work that earned them the Pulitzer Prize and the Shevchenko National Prize in 2024.

The film’s impact was significant, becoming the highest-grossing documentary in Ukraine last year. In addition to the Septimius Award, “20 Days in Mariupol” has also garnered international acclaim, winning an Oscar for “Best Documentary Feature” at the 2024 Academy Awards, the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary.

Mstyslav Chernov further received the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award for “Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking.”