“No One Would Know What Happened.”

Over the course of 20 days in February and March of 2022, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was unfolding, Mstyslav Chernov and his Associated Press colleagues became the last international journalists to report from the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.

Mstyslav and his colleagues kept their cameras rolling, capturing what would become some of the defining images of the war: A maternity hospital, bombed. An expectant mother, gravely wounded. Dying children. Mass graves.

These atrocities, and the process of documenting them, take center stage in 20 Days in Mariupol, our documentary with the AP chronicling Mstyslav’s experience on the ground and offering a visceral, first-person record of the war’s civilian toll. It’s directed, written and produced by Mstyslav, and produced and edited by FRONTLINE’s Michelle Mizner alongside producers Derl McCrudden (AP’s vice president of news) and me.

This Sunday, roughly two years after Mstyslav and his AP colleagues, Evgeniy Maloletka and Vasilisa Stepanenko, escaped Mariupol, 20 Days is a nominee for Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards.

This recognition is bittersweet, both because the Ukraine war is ongoing, with no end in sight to the suffering — and because other conflicts are playing out right now with massive human tolls, most prominently the catastrophic war in Gaza following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

In times like these, it can be hard to find any hope at all. But I find a glimmer in the fact that a film like 20 Days, a record of facts on the ground, is being honored at this level.

I am moved by the powerful support the film has received, every step of the way, from our partners at the AP and at GBH, CPB, PBS and PBS Distribution.

I also find inspiration within the documentary itself.

There’s a moment in the film when a Ukrainian police officer tells Mstyslav and his colleagues, “Guys, your reporting spread. You did a big thing. Otherwise, no one would know what happened.”

For me, those words are a stark reminder of why we do the work we do.

There is a need for this kind of boots-on-the-ground reporting.

There is a need for a fair and factual record of our times.

There is a need for a steady voice up against mis- and disinformation.

And one thing is certain: our work will continue.

As the Academy Awards approach and beyond, thank you for your support of 20 Days, of on-the-ground reporting, and of FRONTLINE.