Ukrainian Oscar Committee Statement: “This is an uncompromisingly honest and piercing documentary that immerses viewers in the reality of the Russian-Ukrainian war through human experience – one that is fragile, exhausting, and at the same time full of dignity. This Ukrainian film must become even more visible in the world, as it speaks on behalf of those who defend freedom and the right to life every day.”

Director Mstyslav Chernov on the decision: “We will do everything possible to make the voices of Ukraine and its armed forces heard. This feels especially important now, as Kyiv has been under heavy shelling since early morning. I received the news about the selection results while filming the retrieval of civilians’ bodies from the rubble. This places an even greater responsibility on us, documentary filmmakers and artists, to speak to the world, to shout about what is happening, even when it seems futile.”

About the film:

From the Oscar®-winning team behind 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL, 2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA documents the toll of the Russia-Ukraine war from a personal and devastating vantage point. Following his historic account of the civilian toll in Mariupol, Mstyslav Chernov turns his lens towards Ukrainian soldiers — who they are, where they came from, and the impossible decisions they face in the trenches as they fight for every inch of their land.

Amid a failing counteroffensive in 2023, Chernov and his AP colleague Alex Babenko follow a Ukrainian brigade battling through approximately one mile of a heavily fortified forest on their mission to liberate the Russian-occupied village of Andriivka. Weaving together original footage, intensive Ukrainian Army bodycam video and powerful moments of reflection, 2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA reveals with haunting intimacy, the farther the soldiers advance through their destroyed homeland, the more they realize that, for them, this war may never end.

The decision was made by the Ukrainian Oscar Committee, which consists of 12 film industry experts, including filmmakers and critics. They were elected by a vote of the members of the Ukrainian Film Academy. The committee members are: Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, director, writer (Chairperson), Maxim Asadchiy, producer, Denis Budanov, film critic, Dmytro Desiateryk, film critic, Taras Dron, director, writer, Maryna Er Gorbach, director, writer, Oleksii Pershko, film critic, Andriy Khalpakhchi, Film festival director, Kateryna Slipchenko, film critic, Maryna Stepanska, director, writer, Volodymyr Yatsenko, producer, Serhiy Zlenko, distributor, producer.

The Ukrainian Oscar Committee is an independent association of film industry professionals. It was founded in 2006 under the Association of Producers of Ukraine. A memorandum of cooperation was signed by the Association of Producers of Ukraine, the National Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Film Academy, and the Ukrainian Institute. The Committee is responsible for the annual selection and submission of a film from Ukraine for the Academy Award® for Best International Feature Film.

The “shortlist” of 15 films in the Best International Feature Film category will be announced on December 16, 2025. 

The five nominated films will be announced on January 22, 2026. 

The 98th Academy Awards® ceremony will take place on March 15, 2026.