Best Documentary Feature – Academy Awards (2026)
Best Documentary – BAFTA (2026)
Sundance Film Festival Winner – World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award
Rotten Tomatoes 100% Critical Rating!
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.
PG-13 | Denmark, United Kingdom, Germany, Czech Republic | 2025 | 1h 30m
Directed by David Borenstein, Pavel Talankin
Starring Pavel Talankin, Vladimir Putin, Galina Aleksandrovna
“Mr. Nobody Against Putin is about how you lose your country. You lose it through countless small, little acts of complicity…
but luckily, even a ‘nobody’ is more powerful than you think.”
– co-director David Borenstein, acceptance speech at the 98th Academy Awards
“A touching, intimate chronicle… [it] starkly reveals the toll propaganda takes on everyday individuals and communities.”
— Leslie Felperin
“This is an absolutely stellar look at how much a country at war can be reshaped away from the front line. A brilliant film, accessible yet profound.”
— POV Magazine
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