We are honoured to welcome Ukrainian filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov to this year’s festival. Winner of the 2024 Oscar for Best International Feature for 20 Days in Mariupol, Chernov captured the harrowing experience of journalists trapped inside the besieged city as they documented the atrocities of the Russian invasion. He is also a BAFTA nominee for 2000 Meters to Andriivka, which follows Ukraine’s Third Assault Brigade during the liberation of a village near Bakhmut, and has witnessed firsthand pivotal moments such as the tense encounter between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House. In conversation with Fred Casella, Chernov offers a powerful insight into the moral complexities of reporting war in his own country, and explores the role of filmmaking in shaping understanding, bearing witness, and creating the first draft of history.