Mr. Nobody Against Putin

synopsis

Wars are won by teachers, Putin declared when, after 2022, he turned Russian schools into recruitment centres designed to educate future soldiers. Educational institutions are required to send recordings of their lessons to the Ministry of Education to prove that their interpretation of the invasion of Ukraine is in line with pro-Kremlin policy. Pavel “Pasha” Talankin, a teacher at an elementary school in the provincial Ural town of Karabash, took Putin's statement to heart, and the camera in his hands turned from a propaganda tool into an instrument of resistance. In addition to videos from his lessons, he also films everyday situations, and after two years, he flees into exile with his recordings. Documentary filmmaker David Borenstein takes them and compiles a picture of the militarization of education and a highly personal portrait of contemporary Russia.

“I tried to understand the way Pasha sees Russia and I think that helped me avoid an overly black-and-white perspective on what was going on there.” — David Borenstein

biography

David Borenstein (born 1984) is an American documentary filmmaker based in Copenhagen. He studied anthropology and lived in China for ten years, where he worked as a translator. His feature-length documentaries include Dream Empire (2016) and Can't Feel Nothing (2024). He won one of the top prizes at the Sundance Film Festival for his film Mr. Nobody Against Putin.

film details

director:	David Borenstein, Pavel Talankin
producer:	Helle Faber, Radovan Síbrt, Alžběta Karásková
script:	David Borenstein
photography:	Pavel Talankin
editing:	Nicolaj Monberg, Rebekka Longvist
music:	Michal Rataj, Jonas Struck
sound:	Peter Schultz, Kevin Bavnhoj, Teis Syvsig
Distributor:	Martin Palán
PR:	Adéla Klingohrová , Kateřina Dvořáková