KINGSTON, R.I. — Oct. 12, 2023 — When Russian soldiers laid siege to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in early 2022, Associated Press photojournalist and filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov was one of a handful of international reporters left in the battered city. As bombs fell, buildings crumbled, and thousands of soldiers and civilians lost their lives, Chernov’s cameras rolled.
Chernov’s reporting in Mariupol earned the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service and became the basis of his award-winning documentary 20 Days in Mariupol. On Friday, Oct. 20, Chernov will come to the University of Rhode Island to discuss his experience reporting from the front lines as speaker for the 16th annual Christiane Amanpour Lecture. The event, which begins at 7 p.m., will be held in-person in Edwards Hall on URI’s Kingston Campus and streaming live on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and Youtube.
The lecture will be preceded by a special introduction by Christiane Amanpour, chief international anchor for CNN and a URI alumna whose endowment created the lecture series. A question-and-answer session will follow the lecture. The event is free and open to the public.
“Mstylslav Chernov’s courageous reporting from Mariupol gave the world a window into the brutal reality of the war in Ukraine,” said Ammina Kothari, director of URI’s Harrington School of Communication and Media and a professor of journalism. “The images are difficult to watch and the stories difficult to hear, but it’s essential that the world understand what conflict looks like and how it affects the lives of those involved. It’s an honor to welcome Chernov to URI as part of the Amanpour Lecture series.”
In addition to his coverage of the war in Ukraine, Chernov is known for his coverage of the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine in 2014, the Donbas War and the downing of flight MH17, the Syrian civil war, and the Battle of Mosul, Iraq. He is president of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers and a member of Ukrainian PEN, a non-governmental organization established to protect freedom of speech and authors’ rights.
In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Chernov’s reporting from Mariupol has earned him the Deutsche Welle Freedom of Speech Award, the Georgiy Gongadze Award, and the Knight International Journalism Award among many others. The film 20 Days in Mariupol premiered Jan. 20, 2023, at the Sundance Film Festival where it won the Sundance World Cinema Documentary Competition. It was selected as the Ukrainian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.
The Amanpour Lecture series brings leading journalists from around the world to URI for lectures and discussion. The series is endowed by Christiane Amanpour (’83, Hon ’95), chief international anchor of CNN’s flagship global affairs program “Amanpour,” and supported by the Harrington School. Prior speakers include Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter C.J. Chivers of The New York Times; author and former ABC News journalist Carole Radziwill; author and journalist Ed Yong, who has covered the COVID-19 pandemic for The Atlantic; CNN anchor and political correspondent Abby Phillip; and renowned conflict journalist Jane Ferguson.
“Every year the Amanpour Lecture provides an incredible educational opportunity for our students, as well as an opportunity for the greater Rhode Island community to hear first-hand from top journalists covering the world’s most critical issues,” said Jeannette Riley, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at URI. “We’re deeply appreciative of Christiane Amanpour, whose international renown and generous support enable us to attract such incredible storytellers to URI.”