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Mr Nobody Against Putin

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Mr Nobody Against Putin
International promotional release poster
Directed by
Written byDavid Borenstein
Produced by
  • Helle Faber
StarringPavel Talankin
Narrated byPavel Talankin
CinematographyPavel Talankin
Edited by
  • Nicolaj Monberg
  • Rebekka Lønqvist
Music by
  • Michal Rataj
  • Jonas Struck
Production
companies
  • Made in Copenhagen
  • Pink Productions
  • ZDF/Arte
Release dates
Countries
  • Denmark
  • Czech Republic
  • Germany
LanguagesRussian
English

Mr Nobody Against Putin is a 2025 documentary film directed by David Borenstein [de] and co-directed by Pavel Talankin. It follows Talankin job in a school at Karabash, a poor mining town near the Ural Mountains. While recording his students Talakin also documents the Putin administration movements to control public perception during the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war.[2]

The film had its world premiered at the World Cinema Documentary section of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on 25 January, where it won the Special Jury Award. It was selected as the Danish entry for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards.[3]

Background

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Mr Nobody Against Putin was shot over a period of two years by Pavel "Pasha" Talankin, the videographer and events coordinator at Karabash Primary School #1.[4] Talankin began seriously documenting his activities after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, when the government began requiring schools to hold regular "patriotic displays" and use a state-written curriculum to justify the invasion to students.[4] At the same time, the government instituted a requirement to upload footage of these displays to a state-run portal to prove compliance, allowing Talankin cover to film meetings, lessons, and visitors to the school without attracting suspicion.[5] He initially planned to resign in order to avoid supporting the Russian government, however, after getting in contact with director David Borenstein he withdrew his resignation to keep gathering footage.[5]

Talankin secretly fled Russia during the summer of 2024, aided by his producers and director David Borenstein who worked to get him asylum in Europe, following evidence of police surveillance at his home shown during the film.[6]

Release

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It premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in January 2025. Beginning in March 2025 it has been screened at numerous film festivals around the world.

Critical reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 20 critics' reviews are positive.[7] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 79 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[8]

IndieWire published a positive review, giving the film a grade of "A-" and praising the documentary for its undercover footage of life inside Russia.[4] The Guardian was similarly positive and praised Talankin for his bravery in capturing footage.[9] The Daily Beast and Variety also published positive reviews.[5][10] The A.V. Club was more critical, noting that the film's focus on a single school made it feel limited in scope and that several narrative threads were dropped as the film continued.[11]

The film received the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Crucchiola, Jordan (2025-01-25). ""Mr. Nobody Against Putin" Is a Roadmap for Bravery in the Face of Authoritarianism". Sundance Institute. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
  2. ^ Sauer, Pjotr (2025-02-09). "'Many teachers don't want to do this, but they're trapped': film shows extent of Putin indoctrination in Russian schools". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
  3. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (2025-09-17). "Oscars: Denmark Selects 'Mr. Nobody Against Putin' For Best International Feature Film Race". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  4. ^ a b c Blauvelt, Christian (2025-01-26). "'Mr. Nobody Against Putin' Review: A Riveting Look Inside an Increasingly Totalitarian Russia". IndieWire. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
  5. ^ a b c Schager, Nick (2025-01-25). "One Teacher's Brave Stand Against Putin's Propaganda Machine". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
  6. ^ Pennick, Bailey (2025-01-26). ""Mr. Nobody Against Putin" Is a Roadmap for Bravery in the Face of Authoritarianism - sundance.org". Retrieved 2025-10-18.
  7. ^ "Mr Nobody Against Putin". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  8. ^ "Mr Nobody Against Putin". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
  9. ^ Horton, Adrian (2025-01-25). "Mr Nobody Against Putin review – a teacher fights back in a powerful documentary". The Guardian. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
  10. ^ Aguilar, Carlos (2025-01-25). "'Mr. Nobody Against Putin' Review: A Defiant Teacher Witnesses the Militarization of Russian Schools Amid Ukraine War in Poignant Doc". Variety. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
  11. ^ Oller, Jacob (2025-01-27). "Sundance documentaries tackle gender-affirming care, cancer treatment, and warmongering". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
  12. ^ "2025 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners Announced". Sundance Institute. 2025-01-31. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
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