Oscar-winning documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin is available to stream for free in the UK

An ‘inspiring’ documentary film that details the astounding work of a schoolteacher trying to take on the Russian government is now available to watch for free.

Initially released just over a year ago, Mr Nobody Against Putin was directed by David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin.

The 90-minute film follows the latter as he works at a school in Karabash, a poor mining town near the Ural Mountains in Russia.

While recording his students over the course of two years, Talankin also documents the Putin administration’s efforts to control public perception during the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war.

After already scooping the Bafta award for best documentary last month, overnight the film also won the best documentary feature film at the Academy Awards.

When stepping on stage to accept the Oscar, Borenstein made an impassioned political speech in which he also made some subtle parallels to Trump’s America.

‘Mr Nobody against Putin is about how you lose your country, and what we saw when working with this footage is that you lose it through countless small, little acts of complicity,’ he said.

‘When we act complicit, when a government murders people on the streets of our major cities, when we don’t say anything, when oligarchs take over the media and control how we can produce it and consume. We all face a moral choice. But even a nobody is more powerful than you think.’

What is Mr Nobody Against Putin about?

Mr Nobody Against Putin follows the primary school teacher as he records the Putin administration’s attempts to indoctrinate students to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Shot over two years, Talankin was working as a videographer and events coordinator at Karabash Primary School #1, where he began documenting what was unfolding in the area following Russia’s 2022 invasion.

At the time, the government began requiring schools to hold regular ‘patriotic displays’ and use a state-written curriculum to justify the invasion to students.

The government then also rolled out a requirement to upload footage of these displays to a state-run portal to prove compliance, allowing Talankin cover to film meetings, lessons, and visitors to the school without attracting suspicion.

In 2024 he eventually fled Russia and sought asylum in Europe after discovering evidence that the police had been undertaking surveillance of him in his home.

As the film was being made, Talankin says nearly 200,000 teachers left their jobs rather than be part of a system that is indoctrinating children. Speaking to the BBC recently, he shared hopes that the film would show Russians ‘who think similarly to me that they are not alone’.

What have critics said about the film?

With a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film has been summed up as: ‘Chronicling one whistleblower’s uphill struggle with clear-eyed insight, Mr. Nobody Against Putin is a powerful documentary that vividly illustrates the resilience of everyday people against institutional forces.’

In its review, The Daily Beast wrote: ‘An endearing, infuriating, and despairing non-fiction portrait of a country’s final descent into oppressive authoritarianism, all of it shot covertly by one brave teacher, it’s a striking work of rebel cinema.’

‘Through the eyes of its delightfully brave, yet utterly relatable subject (also the de facto cinematographer), this terrifying, revelatory and poignant exposé offers an unseen human angle on an ongoing conflict,’ Variety shared.

Meanwhile Collider added: ‘While the plight of Ukraine is undeniably horrific, Mr. Nobody Against Putin shows a very real cost and the damaging ripple effect this invasion will have on Russian civilians.’

Where can I watch it?

Mr Nobody Against Putin is streaming on BBC iPlayer.

Speaking on stage during the Oscars Talankin, who now lives in exile in Europe, advocated for countries where ‘instead of shooting stars…they have shooting bombs and shooting drones.’

‘In the name of our future, in the name of all of our children, stop all of these wars now,’ he urged.

Meanwhile backstage his co-director also shared: ‘One interesting thing about working with a team of Russians throughout this process has been my desire as an American to constantly compare the situation in America to Russia.’

‘But a lot of my Russian colleagues and friends always said, “No, no, it’s not the same situation. It’s actually happening quicker in America than it’s been happening in Russia”. Trump is moving a lot quicker than Putin in his early years,’ he added.

Mr Nobody Against Putin is streaming on BBC iPlayer.

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