The Sundance Independent Film Festival begins on Jan. 23 in the US, featuring “2000 Meters to Andriivka,” a new documentary by Ukrainian director Mstyslav Chernov. Best known for his Oscar-winning film “20 Days in Mariupol,” Chernov returns with another compelling exploration of war.
Ahead of the premiere, Chernov shared sneak peeks from the film as part a “Meet the Artist 2025” official festival video. In it, Chernov described the film as “a story of Ukrainian soldiers fighting for every inch of their land.”
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“This is a story of modern war and how it’s fought, how it’s experienced, and how it’s changing us,” Chernov said. “We wanted to bring the audience to the battlefield, in the trenches and as close as possible to the soldiers to show the perspective of those who lost their lives.”
Shot during Ukraine’s 2023 counteroffensive, Chernov and his team worked closely with soldiers from the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade. They captured the process of liberating Andriivka near Bakhmut – a village occupied by Russian forces and littered with mines.
The production spanned 18 months, with Chernov working alongside photographer Oleksandr Babenko, producers Michelle Mizner and Rainie Aronson-Rath, and composer Sam Slater, a two-time Grammy winner known for his work on Chornobyl and Joker.
“2000 Meters to Andriivka” is competing in Sundance’s World Cinema Documentary category, with Chernov set to present the film in person.
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The project builds on the historic success of “20 Days in Mariupol,” which earned Ukraine its first-ever Oscar in 2024 for Best Documentary Film. The film also won the Audience Award at Sundance and claimed 35 international honors, including nominations from BAFTA and the Directors Guild.
The documentary was shot during the Russian siege of Mariupol in the first weeks after Russia launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. An estimated 50,000 Ukrainians died as a result of the siege, which lasted for months until May 2022.
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