Repeated standing ovations in a packed Kyiv cinema, mixed with tears and hugs, greeted those Ukrainian civil servants who toiled nearly non-stop in and around a Mariupol hospital that was a centerpiece of the film about the city early on in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
“It was very hard emotionally because it reminded me of when we were leaving Mariupol, there were still a lot of casualties,” said Serhii Chornobrivets, 25, an ambulance worker who treated countless patients in the city, and is now a military medic. “I could have saved more people, but I didn't.”Many viewers the documentary, a joint project between The Associated Press and PBS Frontline, expressed their gratitude that the footage eventually got out to the world for history's sake.
They were the three international journalists to hold out longest in Mariupol during the Russian siege, serving as the world's eyes and ears amid the horrors of the onslaught. Their work along with Paris-based colleague Lori Hinnant won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize award for public service for the AP in May.
“After this material was published, the entire world started helping us - as the real fighters that we are,” said Volodymyr Nikulin, a Mariupol police officer and a standout of the documentary for his cool-headed determination that word of the devastation reach a global audience. “Already this movie has become part of our history.”