Pan Nikdo proti Putinovi

Thirty-three-year-old Pavel “Pasha” Talankin lived in Karabash, Russia, until recently. Despite the fact that the local copper smelter turned the city of ten thousand people in the Urals into one of the dirtiest places on the planet, he loved it. He worked as a teacher at the local elementary school, and thanks to his empathy and unconventional approach, he was popular with both students and the teaching staff. But after Russia invaded Ukraine, his role at the school changed dramatically. He is drawn into Putin's ideological machine and forced to promote state-sanctioned messages. As a school cameraman, he documents the Kremlin regime's confidential and revealing videos, capturing the rise of militarized children's groups, repressive laws, fervent nationalism and the recruitment of graduates to war. "One evening, after filming another propaganda lesson for the Ministry of Education, I asked myself: 'Do I have the moral right to delete this footage?' And I decided not to. This dictatorship, with all its lies and absurdities, will not last forever. One day, people will need to know how it all happened," says Pasha, who refuses to become a foot soldier in an army of the obedient. A single hesitation, a phone call or a hint of suspicion could sentence him to 15 to 20 years in prison. To stay safe, he avoids open criticism and follows the order: film it and publish it. And that's exactly what he will do with the footage even after his escape from Russia - show it to the world. The joint film, directed by David Borenstein and co-directed by Pasha Talankin, is as engaging and joyful as it is instructive and chilling. Mr. Nobody Against Putin is a painfully truthful and honest reflection of current events, the uniqueness of which is confirmed by the screenings and awards it has received at prestigious film festivals around the world, including the largest American festival in Sundance.