PARIS:
Three films about Russian journalists and anti-Kremlin activists under President Vladimir Putin have been nominated for Oscars, in what critics said Wednesday sent a clear anti-war, anti-authoritarian message.
David Borenstein’s Mr Nobody Against Putin, based on footage smuggled out of Russia, and American director Julia Loktev’s My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 – Last Air in Moscow were shortlisted in the Feature Documentary category.
Borenstein’s film documents the sudden militarization of a secondary school in Russia’s Ural Mountains, using footage shot by the school’s coordinator and videographer, Pavel Talankin.
Talankin left Russia with the hard drives of what would become the documentary.
Borenstein said he was “shocked” and felt “surreal.”
“But I’m also grateful, especially for Pasha. He sacrificed so much to make this film and it deserves to have as much impact as possible,” he said, referring to Talankin with his diminutive.
Extraordinary acts
Asked about the presence of Russian-themed films on the shortlist, Borenstein said: “Maybe it’s because terrible situations inspire extraordinary actions?”
The Russian-born documentary Loktev — which entertainment news site Vulture said felt like a “5.5-hour panic attack” — tells the story of freelance Russian journalists in the winter of 2021-2022, in the run-up to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Extremist by exiled Russian director Alexander Molochnikov, executive produced by Hollywood’s Ben Stiller, was shortlisted in the Live Action Short Film category.
The film is inspired by the story of 35-year-old Sasha Skochilenko, an artist and musician who was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2023 for swapping supermarket labels with messages opposing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
After two years behind bars, she was released in 2024 as part of a historic prisoner exchange.
Molochnikov, one of Russia’s most prominent young directors, began his career at the Moscow Art Theater when he was 22 and later directed at the Bolshoi Theater. The 17-minute film was the 33-year-old Molochnikov’s thesis at Columbia University after he fled Moscow following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Skotilenko praised the film and told AFP she was “glad” that “the issue of repression and political imprisonment in Russia is becoming more visible to people abroad.”
“This is incredibly important now, when some people in Western countries are delusional about the ‘Russian world’ and what good it can bring.”
Skochilenko, who is gay, added that it was her “dream” to one day see a TV series based on a story about her partner Sonia and her.
Anti-dictatorship message
In November, Stiller told X he was honored to be part of the project, praising “the courage to stand up against authoritarian regimes (in any country).”
The inclusion of Russian-themed films on the shortlist sends a strong message, said film critic Anton Dolin.
“It’s an anti-war, anti-dictatorship message,” he told AFP.
“This shows that American cultural elites are paying increased attention to what is happening in Russia.”
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