description:
Mr Nobody Against Putin was shot over a period of two years by Pavel “Pasha” Talankin, the videographer and events coordinator at Karabash Primary School #1. Talankin began seriously documenting his activities after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, when the government began requiring schools to hold regular “patriotic displays” and use a state-written curriculum to justify the invasion to students. At the same time, the government instituted 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. He initially planned to resign in order to avoid supporting the Russian government, however, after getting in contact with director David Borenstein, he withdrew his resignation to keep gathering footage.
Talankin secretly fled Russia during the summer of 2024, aided by his producers and Borenstein who worked to get him asylum in Europe, following evidence of police surveillance at his home shown during the film.
