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2A Tuesday, March 12, 2024 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia I gainesvilletimes.com Ukrainian director wins Oscar, wishes he ‘never made this film’ Jordan Strauss Invision/AP Raney Aronson-Rath, from left, Mstyslav Chernov, and Michelle Mizner pose in the press room with the award for best documentary feature film for “20 Days in Mariupol” at the Oscars on Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. BY HANNA ARHIROVA AND SUSIE BLANN Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine awoke Monday to another day of war — Rus sian drones blasted buildings in the Kharkiv and Odesa regions — but also the news it had won its first Oscar. The best documentary vic tory for Mstyslav Chernov's “20 Days in Mariupol,” a har rowing first-person account by The Associated Press journalist of the early days of Russia's invasion in 2022, was bittersweet. “This is the first Oscar in Ukrainian history, and I'm honored,” an emotional Chernov said Sunday at the Academy Awards. “Probably I will be the first director on this stage to say I wish I'd never made this film, I wish to be able to exchange this to Russia never attacking Ukraine.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the award as “important for our entire country” and said he was grateful to the team and thanked journal ists across the world still covering the war despite a decrease of attention as it has dragged into its third year and as much of the world's focus has turned to Israel's war against Hamas. “The horrors of Mariupol must never be forgotten,” he said on social media. “The entire world must see and remember what the inhumane Russian invasion brought to our people. Cities and villages were destroyed, homes were burned, and entire families were killed by Russian shells and buried in their own backyards.” The AP team of Chernov, photographer Evgeniy Malo- letka and producer Vasilisa Stepanenko arrived an hour before Russia began bomb ing the port city. Two weeks later, they were the last jour nalists working for an inter national outlet in the city, sending crucial dispatches to the outside world showing civilian casualties of all ages, the digging of mass graves, the bombing of a maternity hospital and the sheer extent of the devastation. Police officer Volodymyr Nikulin, who is featured prominently in the film as he helped the crew cover the story and ultimately escape Mariupol as Russian forces closed in, said he was happy the movie had won the presti gious award. Ukraine's human rights chief Dmytro Lubinets praised the documentary for showing “the truth to the whole world.” “This awards ceremony is an opportunity to address millions of people. This is what the film director did by mentioning the occupation, prisoners of war, killing of Ukrainians by Russia, and illegal abduction of civil ians,” he wrote on Telegram. EVENTS Inspired by Nature: The Works of James R. Darnell Art Exhibit. 10 a. m. to 4 p. m. weekdays through April 19. The Arts Council Smithgall Arts Center, 331 Spring St. SW, Gainesville. 770- 534- 2787, julie@theartscouncil.net. Free. Eagle’s Women’s Golf Chattahoochee Colle giate. March 12. Chattahoochee Golf Club, 301 Tommy Aaron Drive, Gainesville. WHHS Art Exhibition. 8 a.m. to4:30 p.m. March 12-15. Flowery Branch City Flail, 5410 Pine St., Flowery Branch. Free. Basic Building Blocks of Genealogy. 10:30 a. m. to noon March 12. Gainesville Branch Library, 127 Main St. NW, Gainesville. 770-532-3311 ext.4011. Free. Special Needs Social Hour. 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. March 13. Hall County Library System, Gaines ville Branch, 127 Main St. NW, Gainesville. 770- 532-3311 ext.4011,jcline@hallcountylibrary. org. Free. Lifelong Learners- Master Naturalist LITE. 10 a.m. to noon March 14. Elachee Nature Science Center, 2125 Elachee Drive, Gainesville. 770- 535- 1976. $0-$10. Better Read Than Dead. 6 to 8 p.m. March 14. Hall County Library System, Gainesville Branch, 127 Main St. NW, Gainesville. 770-532-3311 ext.4011, mbowen@hallcountylibrary.org. Free. Flowery Branch Winter Farmers Market. 3:30 to6:30 p.m. March 14. Flowery Branch Farmers Market, 5210 Railroad Ave., Flowery Branch. 770-967-6371, renee@flowerybranchga.org. Free. St. Patrick’s Day Market. 3:30 to 6:30 p. m. March 14. The Market Pavilion, 5210 Railroad Ave., Flowery Branch. Free. Lori Williams Quintet 2024 Evenings of Intimate Jazz. 8to 10 p.m. Mar 15-16. The Arts Council Smithgall Arts Center, 331 Spring St., SW, Gainesville. 770-534-2787, info@theartscoun- cil.net. $40. DIY-U Kids’: Playful Garden Cart. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 16. Lowe’s Home Improvement, 281 Carpenters Cove Lane, Cornelia; 1514 Skel ton Road, Gainesville. Free. Girl Scout Badge Day. March 16. Atlanta Bo tanical Garden Gainesville, 1911 Sweetbay Drive, Gainesville. ONGOING Card workshop. 10a.rn.to 1 p.m. first Satur days of the month. Hall County Library System, Gainesville branch, 127 Main St. NW, Gaines- Publish your event Don’t see your event here? Organizers can go to gainesvilletimes.com/ calendarand submit their events for publication online and in print. Click the “+Add event" button at the top right and follow the prompts to add information and a photo. Events publish at the editors’ discretion. See more Go to gainesvilletimes.com/calendar for the full interactive calendar of events throughout the region. ville. 770-532-3311 ext.4011, gkoecher@hall- countylibrary.org. Discovery Saturday. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. Elachee Nature Science Center, 2125 Elachee Dr., Gainesville. 770-535-1976. $0-$10. Gentle Yoga. 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.second, third and fourth Wednesdays. Blackshear Place Branch Library, 2927 Atlanta Highway, Gaines ville. 770-337-1572, dl9345@bellsouth.net. Free. Georgia Cross Stitchers. 10 a.m. to4:30 p.m. second Saturdays of the month. Hall County Library System, Gainesville Branch, 127 Main St. NW, Gainesville. 770-532-3311 ext.4011; gkoecher@halIcountylibrary.org. Free. Hip Hop Class. Wednesdays. 4-5 p.m. (3rd to 5th Graders) through May 15. Gainesville Ballet Company, 971 Riverside Drive, Gainesville. 770- 866-5353, info@gbcdance.com. $88. Inspired by Nature: The Works of James R. Darnell Art Exhibit. 10 a.m. to4 p.m. weekdays through April 18. The Arts Council Smithgall Arts Center, 331 Spring St. SW, Gainesville. 770-534- 2787, julie@theartscouncil.net. Free. LEGO Club. 4 to 7 p.m. Thursdays. North Hall Tech Center, 4175 Nopone Rd. Suite B, Gaines ville. 770-532-3311. Music Bingo. 7 to 9 p.m. every Thursday. NoFo Brew Co. Gainesville, 434 High St. SW, Gaines ville, topher@nofobrew.co. Free. Northeast Georgia Writers. 1 -3 p. m. fi rst Wednesdays of the month. Gainesville Down town Library, 127 Main St. NW, Gainesville, tall- taleswriter@gmail.com. Free. Trivia Night. 7-9 p.m. Tuesdays. NoFo Brew Co Gainesville, 434 High St. SW, Gainesville, to- pher@nofobrew.co. Free. THANKYOU FOR READING FULL ACCESS WITH YOUR SUBSCRIPTION Our local news team, the largest in Northeast Georgia, works each day to bring you honestly local news delivered in several different platforms. Subscribers can tailor their preferences for reading the day’s news, whether that’s the traditional print edition or a combination of online formats. Print Traditional print editions are currently published Wednesday and Friday for delivery by mail. EPaper This platform offers the traditional look of a newspaper page but available on your tablet or other device. Editions are published Tuesday through Saturday, with two of those being replicas of the print edition. Access at gainesvilletimes.com/ epaper. 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Find us on these platforms or reach out to our newsroom at news@gainesvilletimes. com or 770-718-3435. Site (Times gainesvilletimes.com A Metro Market Media Publication © 2024, Vol. 77, No. 50 Tuesday, March 12,2024 HOW TO REACH US 345 Green St. N.W., Gainesville, GA 30501 P.0. Box 838, Gainesville, GA 30503 (770) 532-1234 Hours: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Mon.-Fri. Drive thru open: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Mon.-Fri. Publisher Stephanie Woody swoody@forsythnews.com Group Editor Nate McCullough nmccullough@gainesvilletimes.com TALK TO AN EDITOR, REPORT AN ERROR If you spot an error, we want to correct it immediately. We also want your news tips and feature ideas. Call: (770) 718-3435 or (770) 532-1234, Ext. 3435 Advertising Sales Mgr Jessica Shirley Hours: 8:30 a m. to midnight. 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Periodical postage paid: USPS 212-860 Delivery problems call (770) 532-2222 SINGLE COPY The Times is available at retail stores, newspaper racks and at The Times for $2.00 Midweek Edition and $2.00 Weekend Edition For our digital subscription offerings, go to gainesvilletimes.com/subscribe TODAY IN HISTORY Henny Ray Abrams Associated Press New York City police officers keep order in front of the courthouse where Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty to pulling off one of the biggest swindles in Wall Street history, before being led off to jail in handcuffs to the applause of his seething victims in the courtroom Thursday, March 12, 2009 in New York. On this date: In 1864, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assumed command as General-in-Chief of the Union armies in the Civil War. In 1912, the Girl Scouts of the USA had its be ginnings as Juliette Gordon Low of Savannah, Georgia, founded the first American troop of the Girl Guides. In 1947, President Harry S. Truman announced what became known as the “Truman Doctrine" to help Greece and Turkey resist Communism. In 1987, the musical play “Les Miserables” opened on Broadway. In 1994, the Church of England ordained its first women priests. In 2009, disgraced financier Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty in New York to pulling off perhaps the biggest swindle in Wall Street history; he would be sentenced to 150 years behind bars. In 2013, black smoke poured from the Sistine Chapel chimney, signaling that cardinals had failed on their first vote of the papal conclave to choose a new leader of the Catholic Church to succeed Benedict XVI. In 2018, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee said they’d completed a draft report concluding that there was no collusion or coor dination between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia. In 2021, the city of Minneapolis agreed to pay $27 million to settle a civil lawsuit from George Floyd’sfamilyoverthe Black man’s death in police custody. In 2020, as the coronavirus crisis deepened in the U.S., the stock market had its biggest drop since the Black Monday crash of 1987, the NCAA canceled its basketball tournaments after earlier planning to play in empty arenas and the NHLjoinedthe NBA in suspending play. In 2022, Russian forces pounding the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol shelled a mosque that was sheltering more than 80 people. In 2023, “Everything, Everywhere All at Once” won seven Oscars, including best picture and th ree of the fou r acti ng awards. ENTERTAINMENT Kate Middleton apologizes for sharing edited family photo LONDON — Kate, Princess of Wales, apologized Monday for “confusion” caused by her editing of a family photo released by the palace — an image of Kate and her chil dren that was intended to calm concern and speculation about the British royal's health, but had the opposite effect. Several news agencies that initially pub lished the photo, including The Associated Press, withdrew the image over concerns about digital manipulation. Issued by the couple's Kensington Palace office on Sun day to mark Mother's Day in Britain, it was the first official photo of 42-year-old Kate since she had abdominal surgery nearly two months ago. The retractions sent the online rumor mill, already rampant with speculation over Kate's operation and recuperation, into overdrive. The PR disaster is more evidence that the royal family's long-held mantra — “never complain, never explain” — is impossible in a social media-saturated era. Celebrity birthdays Politician, diplomat and civil rights activist Andrew Young is 92. Actor Barbara Feldon is 91. Actor-singer Liza Minnelli is 78. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, is 77. Singer-songwriter James Taylor is 76. Former Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., is 76. Rock singer-musician Bill Payne is 75. Ac tor Jon Provost is 74. Author Carl Hiaasen is 71. Rock musician Steve Harris is 68. Actor Lesley Manville is 68. Actor Jerry Levine is 67. Singer Marlon Jackson is 67. Actor Jason Beghe is 64. Actor Courtney B. Vance is 64. In a post on social media, Kate said that “like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.” “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused,” die post said. In the past, the palace has issued several of Kate's family snapshots featuring her and heir to the throne, Prince William, with their children Prince George, 10; Princess Char lotte, 8; and Prince Louis, 5. The latest photo was taken by William, Kensington Palace said. In an accompa nying social media message, Kate said: “Thank you for your kind wishes and con tinued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day.” Associated Press
