Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Directed by David Borenstein
Denmark
2025
90 mins
This urgent, Sundance prize-winning documentary follows a brave and charismatic Russian teacher as he exposes shocking new propaganda at his school amid the invasion of Ukraine.

Pavel “Pasha” Talankin loves his job as a teacher in the small Russian town of Karabash – until his country invades Ukraine. He is outraged by the new government propaganda in the curriculum, not to mention the school’s being used as a military recruitment ground. In class, Pasha finds ways to playfully protest the regime; more crucially, he becomes a whistleblower, secretly filming the alarming shifts under the guise of his work as school videographer. He risks his life to send the footage overseas to filmmaker David Borenstein – while also planning his own escape. Winner of Sundance’s World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Prize, this hugely daring and noble collaboration is one of the strongest docs of the year.

Limited seats are available for patrons requiring access for wheelchairs, low vision and hearing loop. Please contact our ticketing team directly on 1300 733 733 or tickets@sff.org.au to complete your booking.

SFF Flexipass redemptions are unavailable for Back By Popular Demand sessions (June 17-20)

A must-watch, indelible document of ideological warfare that echoes far beyond Russia
Adrian Horton, The Guardian

Tickets

Wed 4 June 2025, 8pm
Past Event
Dendy Newtown - Cinema 1
WheelchairSubtitledAssisted Listening
Sun 8 June 2025, 9:15am
Past Event
State Theatre
WheelchairSubtitledAssisted Listening
Wed 11 June 2025, 6:30pm
Sold Out
Event George St - Cinema 9
WheelchairSubtitledAssisted Listening
Thu 19 June 2025, 6:15pm
Dendy Newtown - Cinema 3
Assisted ListeningWheelchairSubtitled
Fri 20 June 2025, 6pm
Ritz Randwick - Cinema 3
Assisted ListeningWheelchairSubtitled
Aboriginal FlagTorres Strait Flag

Sydney Film Festival acknowledges Australia’s First Nations People as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land, and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose Country SFF is based.

We honour the storytelling and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.

Don’t miss a thing!

Whether you’re in Sydney or one of our rural locations, sign up to our newsletters for all the latest news and offers.