The film, directed by BAFTA, Emmy and Peabody award winner Robin Barnwell, produced by multi-award winner Hilary Andersson and made by Top Hat Productions, will be shown in eight cities beginning March 15, 2023.
MARIUPOL: THE PEOPLE'S STORY will be brought to Landmark as a communal experience and to show support for Ukraine and its brave people.
Told and filmed by the people of Mariupol, this is the deeply personal story of the destruction of a modern Ukrainian city. The film follows residents as they film themselves from the start of the Russian invasion to the devastation of their city two months later. Those featured live through the horror of war recording what is happening around them after most international journalists have left. The film 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 city of 430,000 people and over the course of two months the people living there endured almost constant bombardment. Ukrainian officials estimate more than 25,000 inhabitants were killed. MARIUPOL: THE PEOPLE'S STORY follows residents as they seek safe haven in a theater, treat victims from a bombed maternity hospital and live in underground bunkers beneath the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works.
Director Robin Barnwell has received multiple awards and nominations, including a Peabody, BAFTA, and an International Emmy. He was also named Journalist of the Year at the British Journalism Awards. Producer Hilary Andersson is an American journalist formerly with the BBC and founder of Hayloft Productions, who has won the Royal Television Society Awards, the Peabody Award, the BANFF Award and multiple other international honors and nominations. The film was executive produced Peabody, BANFF, and three-time Royal Television Society Award- winning Darren Kemp, the founder of Top Hat Productions.
Widely acclaimed, MARIUPOL: THE PEOPLE'S STORY has been hailed as "harrowing and intense" by The Mirror, "grueling and vital" by The Times of London, "essential viewing" by The Guardian and a "must watch" by the Financial Times.
"MARIUPOL: THE PEOPLE'S STORY is a moving portrait of bravery and survival as immediate as tonight's news, and we are proud to bring it, in partnership with the BBC, world-renowned for its trusted reporting and documentaries, to as wide an audience as possible,” said Landmark Theatres President Kevin Holloway. “Landmark Theaters is known for bringing theater-goers intelligent, thought-provoking, curated content and what better fit than this special film by Top Hat Productions.”
MARIUPOL: THE PEOPLE'S STORY will be shown in the following cities and Landmark cinemas beginning March 15:
New York City, Quad Cinema
Los Angeles, Westwood
Philadelphia, Ritz Five
Chicago, Century Centre
Indianapolis, Keystone Art Cinema
Seattle, Crest Cinema Center
Washington, D.C., E Street Cinema
San Francisco, Opera Plaza Cinema
Abacus Media Rights (AMR), an Amcomri Entertainment company, is the distributor of MARIUPOL: THE PEOPLE'S STORY in global markets excluding the UK and Northern Ireland. This film marks BBC Studios’ first theatrical release with Landmark Theatres.
The film is also available to audiences in the U.S. on BBC Select via Amazon Prime Video Channels, the Apple TV app and The Roku Channel.