***WINNER – Best Documentary Feature – 2026 Academy Awards®
Pasha Talankin is an unlikely hero—a beloved Russian primary school teacher, known as a mentor and prankster who offers students a safe haven in his office. After Russia invades Ukraine, Pasha’s role in the school changes dramatically as he is reluctantly drawn into Putin’s propaganda machine. Forced to promote state-sanctioned messages and horrified by the transformation of his school and community, he struggles with guilt and a sense of powerlessness, leading him to become an international whistleblower.
As the school’s videographer, Pasha documents intimate and revealing footage of Putin’s regime, capturing the rise of militarized children’s groups, repressive laws, fervent nationalism, and the recruitment of graduating students to fight in the war. When he learns his own life may be at risk, Pasha is forced to plan a dangerous escape from Russia.
Directed by David Borenstein and co-directed by Pasha Talankin, this uniquely collaborative film is as captivating and joyful as it is eye-opening and sobering. Mr. Nobody Against Putin showcases rare footage that reveals the profound impact of Putin’s regime on the lives of everyday Russians, particularly its children.
2025, 90 Minutes, Denmark/Czechia/Germany, Directed by David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin, Not Rated
“A striking work of rebel cinema.”
– Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
“Remarkable…an exemplary work of cinematic modernism, a reflexive film that turns its genesis into its subject and its moral essence.”
– Richard Brody, The New Yorker
“A riveting exposé of state-mandated nationalism as well as the kind of patriotism needed to be willing to speak out in an attempt to better things for your town and your people.”
– Jules Caldeira, Film Inquiry
“Through the eyes of its delightfully brave, yet utterly relatable subject (also the de facto cinematographer), this terrifying, revelatory and poignant exposé offers an unseen human angle on an ongoing conflict.”
– Carlos Aguilar, Variety
“A cross between School of Rock and 1984, a surprisingly funny study of how authoritarian regimes break the spirit of all except the most unlikely.”
– Helen Rumbelow, The Times
