Ukraine asks Disney to restore 20 Days of Mariupol win to international Oscars broadcast

Ukraine’s National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting has written a letter to the management of The Walt Disney Company asking them to create a new international version of the Oscars ceremony broadcast that includes the presentation of the award for the Ukrainian film 20 Days in Mariupol.

Source: the letter from Ukraine’s National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting

Details: The letter, addressed to Disney CEO Bob Iger, notes that Ukrainians were elated to hear that 20 Days in Mariupol had won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, and the film’s director, Mstyslav Chernov, has been quoted by virtually every media outlet in democratic countries.

Quote: "Today, all democracies in the world are looking for any opportunity to resist military aggression that poses a threat to the peaceful world order. At this point, your staff decides to remove the fragment of the Ceremony where journalists receive the Prize for a full-length documentary film that talks about the horrors of war!

And this moment, which caused enormous emotion in the Dolby Theater and in numerous posts throughout the day on the Internet, will not be seen by viewers in many countries of the Eastern Hemisphere and those viewers around the globe who will watch the Ceremony in subsequent screenings.

It is difficult for us to believe that such a decision by the studio staff would be a politically motivated decision agreed by the company's management. We are also already familiar with the [Disney] Studio's explanations about pre-planning the short version and believe that it could well be only preliminary... Therefore, we ask you to create and distribute to broadcasters an updated international version, in which the fragment with the nomination ‘Best Documentary Feature’ will be preserved."

Background:

• The presentation of the award for 20 Days in Mariupol was omitted from the shortened international TV version of the Oscar ceremony. Disney Entertainment explained that this was due to time constraints on the short version of the show.

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