MR. NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN’s Oscar Win

David Borenstein and Pavel “Pasha” Talankin won the Oscar for best documentary feature Sunday, with their film MR. NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN (Full Frame 2025). 

The film follows Pasha, a teacher, during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As primary schools across Russia’s hinterlands are transformed into recruitment stages for the war, Pasha faces the ethical dilemma of working in a system defined by propaganda and violence, and goes undercover to film what’s really happening in his own school.

Borenstein’s acceptance speech has become one of the most notable moments of the 98th Academy Awards.

In total, five Full Frame alums were nominated for Oscars. In addition to MR. NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN, the other nominees included COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT  (dir. Ryan White), THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR (dir. Geeta Gandbhir), THE DEVIL IS BUSY (dirs. Christalyn Hampton, Geeta Gandbhir), and perfectly a strangeness (dir. Alison McAlpine).

An executive producer of Academy Award nominee for Documentary Feature CUTTING THROUGH ROCKS (dirs. Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni) is a member of Full Frame’s Triangle Advisory Board. The film is screening at the Chelsea Theater in Chapel Hill, North Carolina through Thursday, March 19.

Congratulations to all of the filmmakers recognized at this year’s award ceremony!