Oscar-winning Ukrainian director in Tallinn: Ukraine is people's lives and their homes
Oscar-winning Ukrainian filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov was in Tallinn on Friday for the premier of his new film "2,000 Meters to Andriivka." Chernov told ERR it is important to show Ukraine is not just meters and kilometers on a map, but people's lives, blood, memories and homes.
In "2,000 Meters to Andriivka," journalist and filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov follows a Ukrainian platoon on their mission to traverse one mile of heavily fortified forest and liberate a strategic village from Russian occupation. Against the backdrop of Ukraine's failing counteroffensive. But the farther they advance through their destroyed homeland, the more they realize that this war may never end.
Chernov won the Best International Documentary Director Award at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival for the film. His previous movie, "20 Days in Mariupol," released in 2024, won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.
On Friday, Chernov was in Tallinn for the Estonian premier of "2,000 Meters to Andriivka" at Sõprus Cinema (Kino Sõprus).
"Especially now, when the whole world is saying that Ukraine must give up its land to achieve peace, it is important for me as a director and for Ukrainians to show the value of this land," Mstyslav Chernov told ERR.
"What do they want us to give up? This land is not just meters and kilometers, it is not just names on a map. It is someone's life, blood, memories. It is someone's home. My job is to show this humanity and the connection to their land," he added.
The director continues to document key events in Ukraine's struggle for freedom.
In his conversation with ERR reporter Anton Aleksejev, Chernov quoted one of the main characters in his film, who was commenting on the infamous meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump and members of his administration at the White House earlier this year.
"(The Ukrainian solder in the film) said that we are finally parting with our illusions about who really determines whether we survive or not. And it depends not on America, nor on Europe, but on the person standing next to you, on the family that supports you, on the society that supports the army. Ukrainians are now fighting for their survival, and that depends only on Ukrainians themselves," Chernov said.
The Estonian premiere of "2,000 Meters to Andriivka" took place at Tallinn's Sõprus Cinema (Kino Sõprus) on Friday, November 28.
The film is showing in Estonian cinemas until December 4. More information about the film is available here.
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Editor: Michael Cole
