The feature film 20 Days in Mariupol won the Oscar for Best Documentary at the recent awards ceremony. It’s an unflinching account of what happened in the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The grim details are told by a courageous team of Associated Press (AP) journalists, led by the director Mstyslav Chernov. They spent 20 days in Mariupol at the start of March 2022, recording the grim details as the damage and the body count increased. The scenes we see have become all too familiar since the start of this century. Iraq, Yemen, Libya, the ongoing destruction in Gaza, Russia’s annexation of Crimea are just some of the conflicts that have broken out and which, to a greater or lesser extent, are still going on.
But the really distressing thing is not the sight of shells exploding or burning buildings, or distraught Ukrainians wondering how and why their world has disintegrated. It’s not even the sight of the dead being dumped unceremoniously into hastily dug mass graves.
Ukraine: normalisation is dangerous
No, the really distressing thing about this film is the way the story of Ukraine has all but faded from the headlines. It really shouldn’t. Yes, there are occasional reports about missile or drone attacks but they only serve to emphasise the way this conflict on Europe’s doorstep has been normalised.
The downplaying and lack of media interest in the events depicted in the film is profoundly dangerous. It allows the public to shrug and turn away. “Not our problem,” they think. Here in the UK, it’s understandable that the continued deterioration of Britain’s infrastructure should command attention. After all, the state of the transport network or the health service are of more immediate concern to many on a daily basis. But this indifference to the war allows politicians off the hook. It shouldn’t.
The information war matters
In the era of fake news, the information war for hearts and minds matters. Media exposure plays a vital role in the impact on public opinion. For example, during Vietnam, the repeated blandishments of the Nixon administration – that everything was going ‘according to plan’ (to coin a phrase) – were at odds with the evidence people could see on their TV screens. In the end, the pressure of reality forced Nixon to accept that the political cost was becoming too great and that the USA should get out.
Then there is the ongoing fallout from TV dramas like Partygate, Mr Bates vs the Post Office and Breathtaking. They have captured public attention in a way that newspaper reports have failed to and have triggered outrage across the country. Many people are now aware of, and shocked by, the extent of the damage done to the innocent by the incompetence and downright criminality of those in authority. That will matter when it’s time to vote.
The power of documentary films
Documentary films have the same power but they don’t get the same levels of exposure. The 2010 Oscar winner for Best Documentary was Inside Job, a riveting account of how the 2008 financial crisis all but blew up the world’s banking system. If it was seen widely, people would be able to understand why claims that the banking crisis here was the fault of the previous government are nonsense. Yet it barely gets a screening anywhere.
It is just as important for 20 Days in Mariupol to be seen. Why? Because it may help more people to understand the threat Russia poses to the rest of Europe, never mind Ukraine. Vladimir Putin is on record as saying the end of the Soviet Union was a disaster for the country. Having secured power for another term as President, he now has no limitations on what he intends to do to extend Russia’s sphere of influence. Sweden, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania are members of NATO, not because they fancy it, but because if Ukraine falls, they will be in the firing line. Western leaders like Emmanuel Macron understand this and are trying to mobilise opinion and continued support for arming Ukraine. The more support they get from informed voters, the better.
Film is truth at 24 frames per second
French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard once claimed that film was “truth at 24 frames a second”. 20 Days in Mariupol bears powerful witness to that statement. You can see it on Channel 4’s streaming service until mid-April. Watch it while you can.
