“2000 meters to Andriivka: Ukraine will be represented at the Oscars for the second time by Mstislav Chernov’s film
29 August 2025 04:09
The Ukrainian Oscar Committee has selected a film to represent Ukraine in the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards. According to the committee’s Facebook page , the winner is the film 2000 meters to Andriivka directed by Mstislav Chernov, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
The decision was made by the Ukrainian Oscar Committee of 12 people, experts in the film industry, including filmmakers and film critics, elected by voting of the members of the Ukrainian Film Academy. The committee members are: Dmytro Sukholytkyi-Sobchuk, director (chairman of the Committee), Maksym Asadchyi, producer, Denys Budanov, film critic, Dmytro Desiateryk, film critic, Taras Dron, director, Marina Er Gorbach, director, Andriy Halpakhchi, director of Molodist IFF, Oleksiy Pershko, film critic, Kateryna Slipchenko, film critic, Maryna Stepanska, director, Volodymyr Yatsenko, producer, Serhiy Zlenko, distributor, producer.
“This is an uncompromisingly honest and poignant documentary that plunges into the reality of the Russian-Ukrainian war through the human experience, which is fragile, exhausting, and at the same time full of dignity. This Ukrainian film should become even more visible in the world, because it speaks on behalf of those who defend freedom and the right to life every day,” the Committee noted.
Commenting on the Committee’s decision, Chernov said that his team was honored to represent Ukraine at the Oscars.
“We will do our best to make the voices of Ukraine and the Ukrainian military heard. It seems especially important now, when there was a massive shelling of Kyiv in the morning. I get the news about the selection while I’m filming civilian bodies being pulled out of the rubble. And this imposes an even greater responsibility on us, documentary filmmakers, artists, to speak to the world, to shout to it about what is happening, even when it seems useless,” the director said.
“2000 meters to Andriivka” reveals the consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war through a personal and painful perspective.
Chernov and his AP colleague Alex Babenko accompany a Ukrainian brigade as it fights its way through about two kilometers of heavily fortified forest on a combat mission to liberate the Russian-held village of Andriivka. The events unfolded against the backdrop of the 2023 counteroffensive. Combining author’s footage, intense video from the body cameras of Ukrainian soldiers and moments of personal reflection, 2000 Meters to Andriivka shows that the further the soldiers move across their devastated homeland, the more they realize that this war may not have an end for them.
The Ukrainian Oscar Committee recalled that the world premiere of 2000 Meters to Andriivka took place at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2025, where the film won the award for Best Director in the World Cinema Documentary category.
The Ukrainian premiere took place at the Docudays UA festival, where the film won in three categories at once. Since August 28, the film has been in wide release in Ukraine.
“The “shortlist” of 15 films in the Best International Feature Film category will be announced on December 16 this year. The five nominated films will be announced on January 22, 2026.
The 98th Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 15, 2026
