What to know about the harrowing Ukraine war doc '20 Days in Mariupol'

NEW YORK (AP) — Theatergoers in select cities will soon be able to watch “20 Days in Mariupol,” the visceral documentary on Russia's early assault on the Ukrainian city.

The 94-minute film is a joint production by The Associated Press and PBS “Frontline" and has been met with critical acclaim and an audience award at the Sundance Film Festival. AP journalist Mstyslav Chernov directed the movie from 30 hours of footage he and other AP journalists shot in Mariupol in the opening days of the war.

Chernov and AP colleagues Evgeniy Maloletka, a photographer, and producer Vasilisa Stepanenko were the last international journalists in the city before escaping.

“I thought I should do something more. I should do something more with that 30 hours of footage to tell a bigger story and more context to show the audience of the scale,” Chernov has said.

As the film begins its theatrical rollout, here are details on how it came together and where you can watch it.

WHERE CAN I WATCH ‘20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL’?

Theaters in New York and Chicago will host screenings beginning Friday. Showtimes and ticket info can be found at https://20daysinmariupol.com/.

Next week the film will have showings in Chicago, Boston, Santa Monica, California, and the Bay Area. It will play in Sarasota, Florida, on July 28.

The documentary will air later this year on PBS' “Frontline.”

WHAT SHOULD I KNOW ABOUT THE FILM?

It is an intense account of the war's early days in Mariupol. Death abounds. Chernov, Maloletka and Stepanenko documented fighting in the streets, the crushing strain on Mariupol's besieged residents and attacks that left pregnant women, children and others dead.

The film's trailer provides some sense of difficult scenes in the film.

WHAT ARE CRITICS SAYING ABOUT ‘20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL’?

The film has gotten excellent critical reception. It currently has a 100% rating on the film rating website Rotten Tomatoes.

Harper's Bazaar said, “Watching Chernov’s film is a humanitarian duty.”

“What comes through most vividly, other than the human tragedy on display, is the vital importance of war correspondents and the courage and ingenuity they must possess in order to work under such life-threatening conditions,” The Hollywood Reporter said in its review.

HOW DID THE FILM COME TOGETHER?

Chernov and the AP team could only send limited footage and dispatches during their 20 days in Mariupol.

Once they were safely outside the city, the team was able to review their footage and Chernov considered what to do with it. He wanted to focus on the time the team was in the city and narrated the film himself.

“It’s OK to tell the audiences about your emotions,” he said. “It’s just important to not let those emotions dictate what you show and don’t show. ... While narrated by me, I still tried to keep it fair.”

“Frontline” producer Michelle Mizner edited “20 Days.”

WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT THE REPORTING BEHIND THE FILM?

Chernov's first-person account of fleeing the city — with Russian soldiers hunting for the AP team — tells the amazing backstory behind their reporting.

For months after leaving Mariupol, the AP team continued to document the conflict in Mariupol, including a detailed investigation into a Russian attack on a theater that killed an estimated 600 civilians and Russia's efforts to scrub the city's identity after taking control of it.

The team's work won the Pulitzer Prize for public service. The Pulitzer site includes links to the team's stories and videos. AP's coverage of the war, in Mariupol and beyond, won the breaking news photography category this year.

AP and “Frontline” also produced a project on possible war crimes that can be found on PBS' site.

Daily news updates on the war are available for free on APNews at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.