"Mr. Nobody Against Putin" Wins Oscar, First for Czech Republic in 30 Years

A Historic Achievement for Czech Cinema

Los Angeles, March 16, 2026 — The Czech-Danish documentary film "Mr. Nobody Against Putin" won the Oscar for Best Documentary at the 98th Academy Awards. This marks the first Oscar victory for Czech cinema in nearly thirty years. The last time the Czech Republic celebrated was in 1997, when Jan Svěrák triumphed with the film Kolja in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

The Story of a Russian Teacher Who Filmed Propaganda

The documentary follows Pavel Talankin, an event coordinator and videographer at Elementary School No. 1 in Karabash, a poor mining town near the Urals. Talankin was tasked with implementing state-mandated war education programs, including propaganda lessons for students. Instead of blindly obeying, he decided not to turn off the camera and began documenting the daily reality of the school and the pressure of the state machinery on ordinary people.

Filming took place over two years under increasingly risky conditions. Before Talankin's escape from Russia in the summer of 2024, the film even captured footage of police surveillance of his home. The material was subsequently smuggled out of Russia with the coordinated assistance of producers and director David Borenstein.

Czech Footprint Behind the Camera and on Stage

The film is a co-production between the Czech company PINK and the Danish production company Made in Copenhagen. The Czech side is represented by producers Radovan Síbrt, Alžběta Karásková, and Petra Dobešová, while the Danish side is represented by Helle Faber. Karásková and Síbrt accepted the golden statuette on stage at the Dolby Theatre.

The film is co-directed by Danish documentarian David Borenstein, who contacted Talankin and helped him get the material to the West, and Talankin himself as a co-author.

A Political Message from the Oscar Stage

Upon accepting the award, Talankin delivered an urgent appeal:

"In the name of our future, in the name of all our children — stop all these wars."

Borenstein added that the film is a warning to the world: "Mr. Nobody Against Putin is about how you lose your country," he said, "when the government commits violence and the citizens remain silent. Even a nobody can be more powerful than you think."

The Kremlin reacted in its own way — spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that he had not seen the film and had not even heard of it.

A Journey from Sundance via BAFTA to the Oscars

The film had its world premiere in January 2025 in the World Cinema Documentary section at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Award. In February 2026, it added a triumph at the 79th BAFTA Awards in the Best Documentary category. At the Oscars, it surpassed the competition's favorites and confirmed its exceptional festival story.

The Czech side sees the award as a strong symbolic signal. The producers stated that the award "encourages people not to be intimidated by injustice" — a message that resonates far beyond the film industry.