Mariupol: The People’s Story
BBC ONE & BBC iPLAYER
“If this was relentlessly harrowing to watch, the least you felt you could do was to show these survivors respect by hearing their stories to the end.”
★★★★★ The Times
“This documentary makes for overwhelming, upsetting viewing. But it is a rare example of a film that merits the use of the imperative “must watch”.”
★★★★★ Financial Times
Told and filmed by the people of Mariupol, this is the deeply personal story of the destruction of a modern European city. The film follows a handful of residents as they film themselves from the start of the invasion to the devastation of their city two months later.
Those featured lived through the devastation, recording what was happening around them after most international journalists had left. It is a story of war crimes and suffering but also a story of amazing courage, incredible daring in escape and of undaunted spirit.
Mariupol is a symbol of what has happened to Ukraine. It was a modern European city of 430,000 people, easily recognizable to viewers as a place similar to where they themselves might live. Over two months it was destroyed with Ukrainian officials estimating more than 25,000 of its inhabitants killed.
The film features a small number of carefully selected civilian residents who have compelling stories to tell and who also filmed what was happening around them. They were among those who sought safe-haven in the city’s theatre, treated victims from the bombed maternity hospital and lived in the bunkers under the Azovstal Steel Works. It is perhaps the most dramatic story in the world today.
Watch on iPLAYER
Directed, filmed and produced by Robin Barnwell
Producer - Hilary Andersson
Film Editor - Guy Creasey
Ukraine Producers - Serhiy Solodko and Taras Shumeyko
Assistant Producer: Toby Fitzpatrick
Composer: Simon Russell
Executive Producer – Darren Kemp
Executive Producer for BBC - Tom Stone
Editor of Panorama - Karen Wightman
Company - Top Hat Productions & Hayloft Productions
