The Battle to Watch PBS's 2,000 Meters to Andriivka
- Fred
- Sep 14
- 3 min read
Last year, we touted the excellent documentary 20 Days in Mariupol.
It was easily the best documentary I had seen in the last 20 years.
Based on the successes of Mariupol, when documentarian Mstyslav Chernov returned to the front lines in Ukraine, there should have been an immediate buzz....
I have told this story multiple times: When the first Gulf War broke out, my Grandfather taped the entire 100 or so hour war from CNN. It was one of his most prized possessions. Since the days of John Wayne, Americans have been fascinated by watching war, both fictional, and in documentary form.
It was just 2 years ago that Oppenheimer, the partially fictionalized story of the atom bomb, made a billion dollars at the box office.
There is always a market for war-based content.
With that being said, Mstyslav Chernov created another war documentary, this one is called 2,000 Meters to Andriivka:
The Times (UK), in the preview, called 2,000 Meters to Andriivka: "The Most Important Film of the Year!!!" 5 of 5 Stars.
How about Rotten Tomatoes?
93% Certified Fresh:
Film Week: "Extraordinary, extremely powerful, and devastating in many ways."
New Statesman: "We see what they see, or at least what they are in the middle of, in an unprecedented way. It’s the most immersive filming possible."
Shadows on the Wall: "This is a new kind of battlefield film: immersive, timely and essential."
Okay, okay, I was sold months ago. Why haven't I watched the movie?
When it first came out, it was only released at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Then it was at the CPH:DOX 2025 Festival in Denmark in March. The film had it's "wide" release in July.
What am I bitching about?
PBS is treating 2,000 Meters to Andriivka like Eric Cartman promoted his Amusement Park. We have this great film, but you can't watch it:
In the Spring, I tried to watch the film on multiple streaming formats, none of them had it. I even tried the crappy PBS App that makes you pays for 95% of its content, not there.
Then when I saw that the movie was finally out for wide release in the summer, I simply waited for it to come to town. It came out to....ZERO theaters in the Cleveland Area. That review in Film Week above? The movie played in one theatre in Los Angeles, the Laemmle Royale.
So this week, I said screw it, I'll just pay for it on the Amazon Store.
Not on Amazon.
Went back to streaming options.
Netflix? No.
HBO Max? No.
Hulu? No.
Peacock? No.
Disney+? No.
Wow, am I dumb. I watched Chernov's last film on YouTube, I'll just pay for it there.
Not on YouTube.
Well where in the hell can I watch it? Help me Google:
According to the search engine, the movie isn't playing anywhere.
The "most important movie of the year" is invisible?
My helpful wife said it had to be playing SOMEWHERE. She looked it up on her phone and it said the film was on Apple TV. She had a free month preview, so we would get Apple TV. The first documentary that popped up was....
Actually, the Beastie Boys Story ended up being a really good documentary.
Why did we watch that instead of 2,000 Meters to Andriivka? Because it's not at Apple TV either.
As I combed the internet, thinking I had forgotten how to do simple searches, I came across this story at Variety: Ukraine Selects Oscar-Winning Director Mstyslav Chernov’s ‘2000 Meters to Andriivka’ for Academy Awards International Feature Race.
BUT WHERE CAN I WATCH IT???
Yes, yes, I know, the movie has won a bunch of awards....
Where - can - I - watch - it.
So I put Google in AI Mode and re-searched the movie:
"While 2000 Meters to Andriivka is currently not available to stream online, you can expect it to premiere on PBS later in 2025. For now, you can watch the documentary's official trailer and look for updates on streaming availability."
Wow, I can watch the movie trailer and look for updates? That's so helpful.
What happens if PBS goes bankrupt before then? Or...
Is PBS putting all of its eggs in the 2000 Meters to Andriivka basket for Oscar Season?
I have a bit of OCD for movies, I will wait and complain. The general public will not search for a movie that was never released to the public and isn't on the streaming platform of their preference. PBS better hope that the movie generates Academy Buzz. That's a risky bet for an entity struggling to survive....
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