2000 Meters to Andriivka: A Documentary Everyone Should See
2000 Meters to Andriivka. This is a documentary feature film that everyone should see. We witness, first-hand, the pointlessness of other people creating wars that nobody should have to fight. Almost a Ukrainian version of Oliver Stone’s Platoon, except we don’t have time to really get to know any of the soldiers. We hear snippets of their life stories just before each one disappears, or, as we’re continually forewarned in the narration, “He will be killed in a later incident!”
This is ground-level warfare captured in the raw. Combined with point-of-view aerial shots from their drone bombers to contextualise it all. The drones show us the bombing of the bunkers on both sides, laying clues to modern warfare as planned on mobile phones and iPads. Never gratuitous, this is nevertheless an in-your-face flatland expedition, set out between endless dugouts. Conscripted Ukrainians trek through 2,000 metres of burned-out sunlit woodlands. The images recall some of the First World War paintings by Paul Nash.
This film is a journey into a no-win warzone where the only actual winner is a rescued cat. “What if the war lasts till the end of my lifetime?” ventures one Ukrainian soldier.
The Filmmaker
This film comes from Ukrainian director Mstyslav Chernov, who made the 2023 documentary 20 Days in Mariupol about the first few weeks of the war hitting Ukrainian cities. Mariupol won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards last year.
2000 Meters to Andriivka, like its predecessor, also won an award at the Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Documentary Competition. This Dogwoof-distributed film via Front Line Features was made in conjunction with Associated Press and PBS.
The Death of American PBS
2000 Meters to Andriivka comes out hot on the heels of President Donald Trump’s cuts to PBS and NPR in the USA. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting says it is ending its operations, which began in 1969, due to President Trump’s executive order blocking future funding.
Furthermore, The Independent reported on 1st August that President Trump had “Cancelled $1.1 billion that had been (recently) approved for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting,” adding that “The White House went on to post a statement accusing PBS outlets of bias and spreading radical, woke propaganda.”
The end of American PBS, as we know it, is bound to affect the future chances of documentaries like this ever being made again – a divisive political decision with massive ramifications for American media objectivity and free speech in contemporary filmmaking.
In Conclusion
It’s truly amazing that Mstyslav Chernov and his military cameramen survived, while almost all of the Ukrainian ground soldiers perished on their journey to liberate Andriivka.
Go and see 2000 Meters To Andriivka, which has just opened in London at Curzon Cinemas. It’s one of the most gripping and wholly involving documentaries I’ve ever seen.
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[Image Credit | CPH:Dox]
2000 Meters to Andriivka – Film Details
Directed by Mstyslav Chernov | Dogwoof Distribution
A raw and unflinching look at the Ukrainian frontline, blending ground-level warfare with drone footage and moments of unexpected humanity.
Now showing at Curzon Cinemas, London
Visit Curzon Cinemas for screening times and tickets
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