Pavel Talankin — known to everyone simply as Pasha — lives and works in Karabash, a small town in Russia’s Ural Mountains with a reputation as one of the most toxic and polluted places on earth. As the local primary school’s events coordinator and videographer, he’s a beloved figure: a mentor whose office doubles as a safe haven for students. But when Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine reaches the classroom, replacing education and self-expression with ideology and military cosplay, Pasha finds himself reluctantly pressed into service as a cog in the state propaganda machine.
His quiet act of resistance — covertly filming what he witnessed over two years and smuggling the footage out of Russia — is the subject of Mr. Nobody Against Putin, co-directed by Pasha and David Borenstein. The film documents the rise of militarized children’s groups in Russian schools, the spread of fervent nationalism, and the recruitment of graduating students to fight in Ukraine — all captured by a man who, when he realized his own life was at risk, was forced to plan a dangerous escape from his homeland. Putin won the World Cinema documentary special jury prize at Sundance 2025 and the BAFTA for best documentary, and is one of the five 2026 best documentary Oscar nominees.
Kino Lorber holds North American rights to the film, produced by Helle Faber for Made in Copenhagen, with Czech co-producer PINK. DR Sales is handling international sales.
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