Film screening: ‘20 Days in Mariupol’ and a discussion with the director

May 26 2023

On Wednesday, 31 May 2023 at 7.00 p.m. at Vega Scene in Oslo.
Tickets: Vega Scene

Ukrainian journalist and war correspondent Mstyslav Chernov and his Associated Press team were the only international reporting crew that stayed behind in the besieged city of Mariupol when Russia invaded Ukraine. Their pictures made headlines the world over, as the photographers managed to capture defining images of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
‘20 Days in Mariupol’ is a vivid, gut-wrenching chronicle of the fate of civilians during the siege, a story of what it is like to report from a conflict zone, and a prime example of the impact of this type of journalism around the world.

The film won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival this year, and the film team recently received a Pulitzer prize for their courageous reports from Mariupol. Last year, film director Mstyslav Chernov, along with photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, received a Free Media Award for 2022 from Fritt Ord and the ZEIT Foundation for their valiant, extraordinary documentation of the Russian siege and bombing of Mariupol.
There will be a discussion with director Mstyslav Chernov following the film. Research fellow Oleksandra Hrybenko will introduce the film. Journalist Ingerid Salvesen will be the moderator.
This will be the premier screening of the film in Norway.
Organisers: Fritt Ord, Oslo Documentary Cinema and the Ukrainian Association of Norway

News

Free Media Awards for 2025

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The Fritt Ord Foundation and the ZEIT Stiftung Bucerius hereby announce that the Free Media Awards for 2025 will be presented to media outlets and journalists from Ukraine, Georgia, Hungary, Russia, Belarus and Azerbaijan

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A recently published report reveals biases in who is allowed to participate in the public debate. According to a new report from Retriever commissioned by the Fritt Ord Foundation, men who have Nordic names dominate both as sources and journalists in Norwegian media. Women, younger people and people with foreign names are less likely to be included. This is true both as interviewees and as authors of articles. That being said, greater diversity among journalists results in greater diversity among sources.

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Read the interview with the director and see the list of grants awarded by Fritt Ord in June 2025.