Film “2000 Meters to Andriivka” Wins Award from U.S. Cinematographers Guild

Film 2000 Meters to Andriivka won the U.S. Cinematographers Guild award for best documentary cinematography, capturing intense frontline battles with immersive first-person footage.

Mstyslav Chernov and Oleksandr Babenko won the U.S. Cinematographers Guild (ASC) Award for the documentary film 2000 Meters to Andriivka in the “Best Documentary Cinematography” category. The awards were presented on March 8, reports Zaxid.net citing Deadline.

Chernov accepted the award and noted that Babenko continues to work in Kyiv.

In 2023, Chernov and photographer Babenko joined the 3rd Assault Brigade to film the counteroffensive and battles for the small village of Andriivka near Bakhmut. The film follows them walking two kilometers through a narrow forest strip with soldiers, capturing their stories and recording everything on camera.

The director aimed to portray combat as realistically as possible and immerse the audience in the atmosphere. In addition to the cameras held by the two journalists, a significant portion of the footage was filmed on GoPros attached to soldiers’ helmets and gear. This allows viewers to experience events from a first-person perspective, feeling everything firsthand on the big screen.

“Editing took a year. Not only because we had to review over a hundred hours of helmet-cam footage, but also drone footage, FPV drone footage, and mobile phone recordings. Some scenes, like the 600-meter battle, used seven cameras simultaneously, all of which had to be synchronized to build a single scene,” Chernov told ZAXID.NET.

2000 Meters to Andriivka has also received awards from writers’ and directors’ guilds.

At the 40th ASC Awards, Mike Bauman won for best feature film cinematography for One Battle After Another (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson), beating The Fabelmans, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Frankenstein, and The Train of Dreams, all of which are Oscar nominees for Best Cinematography.

Over 39 years, ASC winners for best cinematography have gone on to win the Oscar 18 times.

The ASC Awards honor the year’s best cinematography across seven categories, including feature films, television, documentaries, and music videos.

Director Guillermo del Toro, two-time Oscar winner, received an honorary award for Frankenstein.