The biggest night in Hollywood took place last night, and while you might have already seen the big winners, you might be wondering how to watch Mr Nobody Against Putin, a primary school teacher’s unveiling of the indoctrination of his pupils to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which scooped the Oscar for best documentary.
The film centres around primary teacher Pavel Talankin, known as Pasha, who has been in exile somewhere in Europe since 2024 due to the threats he faces from Russian authorities for making the documentary.
Here’s everything you need to know about the chilling film, including how to stream Mr Nobody Against Putin in the UK.
What is Mr Nobody Against Putin about?
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Pavel Talankin was working as a teacher at a primary school in Karabash, Russia. As he began to notice lesson plans becoming more patriotic and militarised, with drills starting to replace regular classes, he picked up his camera and started filming — that footage went on to become Mr Nobody Against Putin, a shocking documentary that shows the Russian state’s use of propaganda and indoctrination to steer even very young children into supporting its invasion of Ukraine.
The film shows how Pavel has to become increasingly discreet about his project, which was shot over the course of two years, in the face of Russian laws that aimed to silence dissenting voices and shut down activism. He had to smuggle his hard drives out of the country to collaborate with American director David Borenstein, who lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark. The result is a harrowing and inspiring documentary that shows the lengths some passionate voices have to go to cut through state suppression.
