We are scheduling a special screening of the Oscar-winning documentary 20 Days in Mariupol. The film can be seen as part of the accompanying programme of the international conference Prague European Summit on Thursday 13 June 2024 at 20:30 in Prague’s Světozor cinema. The screening will also include a discussion with guests from Ukraine, who can describe their own direct experience of the Russian occupation.

The documentary 20 Days in Mariupol was awarded a gold statuette by the American Film Academy in March this year. It is the first ever Oscar win for Ukraine and was also highlighted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The documentary was made by Ukrainian reporter Mstyslav Chernov and his colleagues working for the AP, who were the last war correspondents left in the besieged and bombed Mariupol. There they filmed footage showing dying children, mass graves and the bombing of a maternity ward. The media refused to publish much of the footage. It is an image of war that no one wants to see.

„Screening the documentary will allow viewers to gain a better insight into what has become one of the worst examples of the inhuman behaviour of the Russian invasion forces and the daily brutal reality of war. At the same time, it will also offer an opportunity to reiterate why it is necessary not to relent in continuing to support Ukraine in resisting Russian attacks,“ described Kristína Chlebáková, the conference manager.

The subsequent debate will feature, among others, Ihor Boyko, the deputy governor of the Donetsk region, in which Mariupol is located, who can elaborate on the impact of the Russian attacks on the region. The screening is open to the public. Tickets for the special screening of the film can be purchased at the Světozor cinema sales network. Partners of the screening are the One World Festival, the humanitarian organisation People in Need and Světozor Cinema.

The Prague European Summit conference is one of the largest international conferences in the Czech Republic focusing on foreign policy issues, and this year it will be held for the 10th time on the 13th and 14th June at the Czernin Palace. The main topic will be the priorities for the next European Commission in the areas of security, support for Ukraine and the competitiveness of the European economy.

The conference is organised by EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy and the Institute of International Relations in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and with the support of the Representation of the European Commission and the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The event is under the auspices of the President of the Republic Petr Pavel, the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic and the Minister for European Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic and the Confederation of Industry and Transport of the Czech Republic.

See the screening information at: https://www.kinosvetozor.cz/?sort=sort-by-data&cinema=3&hall=1%2C2%2C3&search=mariu&projection=28583