IBC2024 IHFE Award

A multi-award-winning journalist and President of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers (UAPF), Chernov documented the siege in Mariupol as one of the last remaining international media representatives in the city. Video materials from his work became the basis of 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL, Chernov’s first feature film. Produced with the support of AP and the PBS investigative documentary series Frontline, the film offers a harrowing example of the importance of video in fighting back against news disinformation in an era of false reports and deep fakes.

Michael Crimp, IBC’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “People are at the heart of our industry, which exists to support those who want to speak to the world. In honouring Mstyslav Chernov with this year’s IHFE for his work as a war correspondent, video journalist and filmmaker, we are recognising the courage, creativity, skill and determination he has shown in capturing some of the most affecting stories we have seen in the last few years. At a time when it is critical to produce video that reveals the reality of conflicts around the world and challenges the fake news and disinformation being disseminated, Mstyslav and the teams he works with exemplify integrity and the best in our industry."

Chernov has covered the Russian invasion in Ukraine, conflicts in Iraq, Syria, and Nagorno-Karabakh, and Afghanistan during the return of Taliban rule after US withdrawal. In covering the siege of Mariupol, video of the conflict was periodically sent to the AP editorial office from the only place there was still an online connection – under the stairs near the crushed grocery store – but much of the footage Chernov shot could not be sent online and was carried out by the AP team though the humanitarian corridor. 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL draws on Chernov’s daily news dispatches and additional footage he shot to provide a vivid account of civilians caught in the siege and a window into what it’s like to report from a conflict zone.

Chernov and the team of journalists working with him – Evgeniy Maloletka, Vasilisa Stepanenko, and Lori Hinnant – were awarded the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service for their courageous reporting from the besieged city. The film itself – written, directed and narrated by Chernov – has received more than 20 awards, including the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at this year’s Academy Awards, Best Documentary at the British Film and Television Academy (BAFTA) Awards, and the Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival in 2023.

Image Credit:  Evgeniy Maloletka