Denmark has selected David Borenstein’s Sundance award-winning documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin as its entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Oscars. This is Borenstein’s first time repping Denmark.
The film, which scooped the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award in Sundance earlier this year, follows Pasha, an ordinary teacher in a small Russian town. Per the Danish Film Institute’s synopsis, “He is known as the school’s funny, creative, and unconventional adult, loved by his students. But everyday life at the school changes drastically when Putin introduces propaganda and war lessons into the curriculum following his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Instead of teaching students to think independently, Pasha is today forced to film and document children reciting meaningless texts and teachers reading incomprehensible slogans to their classes. In protest — and in complete secrecy — Pasha begins smuggling the videos out of Russia. At the same time, he starts filming how propaganda and war affect the society he lives in. Pasha’s footage reveals the transformation of Russian society, Putin’s iron grip on the population, and the heartbreaking moments when former students are sent to the front.”
Tine Fischer, Director of the DFI and Chair of the Danish Oscar Committee, commented: “This year’s shortlisted Danish Oscar titles show great diversity and strength, and after thorough consideration, the committee has decided to select Mr. Nobody Against Putin. It is a courageous film that dares to approach one of the most complex and conflict-filled issues of our time — without losing sight of the human dimension. It balances humor, absurdity, and seriousness with great precision, and testifies to what documentary film can achieve when it insists on both form and content. It is a film that does not offer easy answers, but asks important questions — and precisely for that reason, we believe it has international potential.”
The documentary, which has seen much international festival play including CPH:DOX and 19 total in the U.S., was chosen from a shortlist that also included Jeanette Nordahl’s Beginnings and Anders Thomas Jensen’s The Last Viking.
Last year’s Danish submission, Magnus von Horn’s The mami with the Needle, is the most recent entry from Denmark to advance to a nomination in the International Feature Film category. Four titles from the country have won the trophy: Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round (2021), Susanne Bier’s In a Better World (2011), Bille August’s Pelle the Conqueror (1989) and Gabriel Axel’s Babette’s Feast (1988).
Directed by Borenstein and co-directed by Pasha Talankin, Mr. Nobody Against Putin is produced by Helle Faber for Made in Copenhagen with support from the Danish Film Institute.
International rights are handled by DR Sales.
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