Documentary film “2000 meters to Andriivka” by director, journalist and founder of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers Mstislav Chernov became the official Ukrainian contender in the category “Best International Feature Film”at the 98th Academy Awards.
This is the second film of Mstislav Chernov, nominated for the highest film award from Ukraine, the first in 2024 was the documentary “20 Days in Mariupol”, which won the award in the category “Best Feature Documentary”.
Announcing its decision to put forward Chernov's film “2000 meters to Andriivka”, Ukrainian Academy Awards committee underlined the importance of this tape: “This is an uncompromisingly honest and piercing documentary that plunges into the reality of the Russian-Ukrainian war through human experience ----fragile, exhausting and at the same time full of dignity. This Ukrainian film should become even more visible in the world, because it speaks on behalf of those who defend freedom and the right to life every day.
Mstislav Chernov, commenting on the news of the selection, stressed the responsibility placed on Ukrainian documentary filmmakers in difficult times for the country:
“It is an honor for us to represent Ukraine in the Best International Feature Film category at the Oscars. We will do everything possible to make the voices of Ukraine and the Ukrainian military heard. Now this seems especially important when there was a massive shelling of Kiev from the very morning. I get news of the selection while I film how the bodies of civilians are taken out from under the rubble. And it puts even more responsibility on us, the documentarians, the artists, to talk to the world, to shout at it about what is happening, even when it seems useless.”
The shortlist of 15 films in the category “Best International Feature Film” will be announced on December 16, 2025. The world will recognize the five nominees on January 22, 2026. The 98th Academy Awards ceremony will be held on March 15, 2026.
New film about the release of Andreyevka
“2000 meters to Andriivka” takes the viewer to the front line — to the epicenter of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the east. The film documents the liberation of the village of Andriivka near Bakhmut by the forces of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade in September 2023. Meter by meter, under constant shelling, the Ukrainian military was retaking the occupied land, and it was there that Mstislav Chernov came with his camera — not as an outside observer, but as a companion of soldiers.
“From Mariupol to Andreyevka: how Mstislav Chernov filmed the war close up”
The film shows not only the course of the combat operation, but also the personal stories of the fighters. They joke, share dreams, remember a peaceful life — and at the same time gradually disappear from the scene, dying at the front and leaving behind only video evidence. Chernov worked on the project together with his colleague — photographer Oleksandr Babenko. The soundtrack was written by composer and producer Sam Slater,Grammy winner for music for the series “Chernobyl” and the film “Joker”.
If the Oscar-winning film “20 Days in Mariupol” was a large-scale testimony of a war crime, “2000 meters to Andriivka” is more chamber, permeated with the author's presence among those who fight. Like the previous tape, the new film is produced in partnership with AP and PBS Frontline.
Recognitions and premieres
The world premiere of “2000 Meters to Andreevka” took place at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2025. There, the film received the award for best director in the category “World Cinema Documentary”. The Ukrainian premiere took place at Docudays UA, where the film won three nominations at once. The official Ukrainian rental started on August 28, 2025 — “2000 meters to Andriivka” can already be viewed in cinemas across the country.
Mstislav Chernov— Ukrainian photographer, Associated Press journalist, director, war correspondent, president of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers, honorary member of PEN Ukraine and writer. He covered the Revolution of Dignity, the war in eastern Ukraine, the aftermath of the downing of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, the Syrian civil war, the battle of Mosul in Iraq, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including the blockade of Mariupol. For this work, he received Deutsche Welle Freedom of Speech Award, Georgy Gongadze Award, Knight International Journalism Awards, Biagio Agnes Award, Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award, Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award, Free Media Awards. According to the results of 2022, he was included in the ratings “People of NV 2022 in the Year of the War” and “14 songs, photos and art objects that became symbols of Ukrainian resistance” from “Forbes Ukraine”, and video materials from Mariupol became the basis of the film “20 Days in Mariupol”, which in 2024 was for the first time in the history of Ukrainian cinema Awarded an Oscar.
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