The Grand Illusion

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature!

As captivating and joyful as it is eye-opening and sobering, MR. NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN is a uniquely collaborative film that showcases rare footage revealing the profound impact of Putin’s regime on the lives of everyday Russians, particularly its children.

Pasha Talankin is an unlikely hero—a beloved Russian primary school teacher, known as a mentor and prankster who offers students a safe haven in his office. After Russia invades Ukraine, Pasha’s role in the school changes dramatically as he is reluctantly drawn into Putin’s propaganda machine. Forced to promote state-sanctioned messages and horrified by the transformation of his school and community, he struggles with guilt and a sense of powerlessness, leading him to become an international whistleblower.

As the school’s videographer, Pasha documents intimate and revealing footage of Putin’s regime, capturing the rise of militarized children’s groups, repressive laws, fervent nationalism, and the recruitment of graduating students to fight in the war. When he learns his own life may be at risk, Pasha is forced to plan a dangerous escape from Russia.

In Russian with English subtitles.

“…a striking work of rebel cinema.” Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

“Remarkable… An exemplary work of cinematic modernism.” Richard Brody, The New Yorker

Critic’s Pick! “Mr. Nobody Against Putin is unique in dealing with serious issues about war and dehumanization with a light, even humorous, and certainly personality-filled, touch — in the serious-as-a-heart-attack war documentary landscape, it is a unicorn. The fact that it leads to more empathy and understanding, and a capacity for seeing ordinary Russians in a more human light, makes it a profound film as well as an engaging one.” Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire