The film about school propaganda, Mr. Nobody Against Putin, has won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The award was presented at the 98th Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles.
Teacher Pavel Talankin from the Chelyabinsk region spent several years filming school assemblies, “Conversations About Important Things,” and patriotic education lessons. After leaving Russia in 2024, he took the footage with him and, together with American director David Borenstein, edited a documentary showing how Russian schools changed after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine — and how propaganda became part of everyday education.
Accepting the award, Talankin said:
“For four years now, we have been looking at the night sky and making our most important wish. But there are countries where not stars fall from the sky, but rockets and drones. For the sake of the future, for the sake of children — stop all wars now.”
❗️This is a very important victory. Thanks to this film, even more people around the world have learned about what is happening in Russian schools.
For four years, our project Ne Norma has been documenting and analyzing the militarization and propaganda in Russian education. Talankin’s film shows from the inside how state propaganda has become part of everyday school life.
Congratulations to Pavel — and to everyone who stands against Putin, war, and the militarization of childhood.
