Ukrainian documentary 2000 Meters to Andriivka wins two major US film awards
Ukrainian director Mstyslav Chernov's documentary 2000 Meters to Andriivka has won two prestigious awards in the US: the Writers Guild of America (WGA) Award for Best Documentary Screenplay and the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Documentary Award.
Source: the official WGA and ASC websites
Details: The WGA awards have been presented since 1949 for achievements in film, television and radio writing. The awards ceremony is usually held early in the year, before the Oscars.
2000 Meters to Andriivka won Best Documentary Screenplay at the WGA awards on 8 March, beating Becoming Led Zeppelin and White with Fear.
Other winners at this year's WGA awards included:
- Sinners, written by American filmmaker Ryan Coogler, for Best Original Screenplay
- One Battle After Another by American filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson for Best Adapted Screenplay
- The Pitt for Best Drama Series and Best New Series
- The Studio for Best Comedy Series Screenplay
- Dying for Sex for Best Limited Series Screenplay
Chernov and cinematographer Alex Babenko also won the ASC award in the Documentary category – the first nomination for both – beating Come See Me in the Good Light by Brandon Somerhalder and Folktales by Lars Erlend Tubaas Øymo and Tor Edvin Eliassen.
The ASC awards have been presented since 1986 in seven categories covering feature films, television, documentaries and music videos.
About 2000 Meters to Andriivka
2000 Meters to Andriivka is a documentary by Chernov about an episode in Ukraine's 2023 counteroffensive in Donetsk Oblast.
The documentary shows events on the front lines through the eyes of Ukrainian troops who have been tasked with moving about 2 km through a fortified wooded area to liberate the village of Andriivka near the city of Bakhmut. Chernov and his colleague, photographer Oleksandr (Alex) Babenko, worked alongside the unit, documenting its advance under constant attacks.
Filming began in September 2023 and lasted almost 18 months. The project team included Chernov, photographer Oleksandr Babenko and producers Michelle Mizner and Raney Aronson-Rath. The score was written by two-time Grammy-winning composer Sam Slater.
The documentary is part of a joint documentary project by Frontline and the Associated Press about Russia's war against Ukraine. It is distributed in Ukraine by Arthouse Traffic, a Ukrainian film company. The documentary not only records the operation but also depicts the reality of modern war: exhaustion, loss, fear and mutual support among soldiers, the devastated landscape of Donbas, and the personal stories, conversations, jokes and reflections of those fighting.
The documentary premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where Chernov won the festival's World Cinema Documentary Competition Directing Award. It has since received dozens of international nominations and was chosen to represent Ukraine in the 2026 Oscars, making the shortlist.
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