KIEV.- The abbreviated version of the international broadcast of the 96th edition of the Oscar faced harsh criticism in Ukraine for omitting the segment announcing the feature film award documentary filmwhich was for 20 days in Mariupolde Mstyslav Chernov.
The documentary, a collaboration between The Associated Press and the series Frontline from PBS, is a harrowing first-person account that takes place in the Ukrainian port city at the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2022.
Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne, which exclusively broadcast the Oscars in the country, published a statement this week expressing its outrage.
“Our team was shocked and deeply disappointed when we did not see the best documentary feature category in the international version, where 20 Days in Mariupol was fairly awarded,” said Lukian Halkin, executive producer of the Suspilne Kultura television channel.
A different version of the Oscars
According to Disney, which grants the international licenses for the Academia of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the decision about which parts and categories to omit for the condensed version of Sunday’s ceremony was made weeks earlier.
International licensees receive two versions of the broadcast: the live version and a 90-minute version, produced by the film academy. The edited version, which includes a summary of the winners, including the documentary, is often preferred by international broadcasters, Disney says. Suspilne noted that instead of the abbreviated version, he will broadcast the unedited cut to Ukrainian viewers.
“Mstyslav Chernov’s powerful speech emphasized unity between Ukraine and the world, which makes it even more disappointing to see this truth-filled and powerful episode excluded from the version distributed to global Oscar licensees,” Halkin said.
The edited version also sparked criticism on social media in Ukraine, where the Academy Award was hailed as a bittersweet but welcome victory.
“The fact that Ukraine has received its first Oscar, and that the world once again sees the horrors that the Russian army committed in Mariupol, is undoubtedly a victory of truth over lies,” Oleksii Kurka, a Kiev office worker.
The crisis in Ukraine
The AP team of Chernov, photographer Evgeniy Maloletka and producer Vasilisa Stepanenko arrived an hour before Russia began bombing the port city. Two weeks later, they were the last journalists working for an international media outlet remaining in the city, sending crucial dispatches to the world showing civilian casualties of all ages, the digging of mass graves, the bombing of a maternity hospital and the magnitude of the devastation.
The Oscar, and the nomination, are a first for Chernov, an AP video journalist, and for the 178-year-old news agency. The documentary is also the first victory for Frontline from PBS after two previous nominations.
The statuettes were awarded to Chernov, producer and editor Michelle Mizner and producer Raney Aronson-Rath. Maloletka, Stepanenko and Derl McCrudden, AP vice president and producer of the film, were on stage to accept the award.
“We can ensure that the record of history is made clear and the truth prevails, and that the people of Mariupol, and those who have given their lives, are never forgotten,” Chernov said from the Oscars stage. “Because cinema creates memories and memories create history.”
Source: AP
