LONDON—IBC has awarded the IBC2024 International Honour for Excellence (IHFE), its most prestigious award, to Ukraine’s Mstyslav Chernov for his work as a video journalist and his groundbreaking film 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL. The award recognises the resolve and skill as filmmaker demonstrated by Chernov in uncovering the unvarnished truth that he and his Associated Press (AP) team witnessed on the ground as they covered the siege of the Ukrainian city by Russian forces in early 2022. The award will be presented at the IBC Innovation Awards ceremony at 6:30 pm, Sunday, Sept. 15 at the RAI Amsterdam.
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.
