A harrowing new documentary from Mstyslav Chernov on Ukraine’s ailing counteroffensive against the Russian invasion brought tears and a standing ovation to the Sundance film festival, two years after the film-maker premiered 20 Days in Mariupol, his Oscar-winning account of the siege’s first weeks.
In 2000 Meters from Andriivka, Chernov is once again beside fellow Ukrainians amid Russian attacks. But whereas 20 Days in Mariupol focused primarily on civilians killed, maimed or mourning during the initial Russian invasion in 2022, Andriivka embeds with Ukrainian soldiers during the military’s counteroffensive in the east throughout 2023, at a time when there was no other independent reporting from the war’s frontlines.
