David Farnor | On 16, Mar 2026

Director: David Borenstein, Pavel Talankin
Cast: Pavel Talankin
Certificate: 12

In the grand scheme of geopolitical tensions, a schoolteacher at a tiny primary school in the Ural mountains isn’t the person you’d pick to take a stand against the might of Russia. And yet, against all the odds, Pavel Talankin is a reminder that it only takes one person to make a difference – and Mr Nobody Against Putin is a rousing, poignant documentary of that fact.

Pavel is the events coordinator for the school in Karabash, a mining town that has seen better days – but that doesn’t stop him loving his town as much as he loves his country. He gets through the day by focusing on the children under his watch, giving them activities and outings to look forward to. As videographer, he takes equal joy in recording the children’s joy and building a sense of belonging, confidence and community.

All this is upended, though, when Russia invades Ukraine – and, without warning, the government introduces a new patriotic education policy. Teaching the children the history of their country from a distinctly Russian perspective, it goes on to rationalise Putin’s war with lies dressed up as truth, before taking them through the ins and outs of weaponry and recruiting them to sing songs and declare loyalty oaths. At the same time, Pavel is required to film the school’s participation in this nationalist curriculum and then upload it as a proof to a new, shady government portal.

Pavel doesn’t take kindly to being made a puppet of propaganda, and he starts to turn his required documenting of official activities into a secret record of what’s happening. The result is a real-time telling of how democracy and facts can be gently, gradually eroded one freedom and mistruth at a time. Those are few and far between, particularly in the modern age where politics can so easily control media – the film only exists because Pavel managed to escape one day after graduation and team up with documentarian David Borenstein.

Their co-directed final product veers from the moving to the shocking, taking in heartfelt farewells and heart-wrenching funerals (audio only, as video recording is banned), as well as sweet end-of-year speeches and the wryly captured success of a rival teacher who buys into Putin’s new agenda. It’s assembled judiciously and thoughtfully, interspersing riveting, slow-burn footage with straight-to-camera confessions. But what’s most striking of all is how playful the film is, from its title cards to its protagonist, whose spirit refuses to be crushed by the tragedy unfolding around him. His ability to laugh, joke and smile are tiny acts of protest in themselves. As one profoundly simple monologue demonstrates, this is the story of one man who loves his home – from the stained concrete buildings to the kids in classroom – and how nobody can do anything to change that.

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