Russian court bans Oscar-winning documentary ‘Mr Nobody Against Putin’
Fact-Check Results
“The Kremlin has continued to suppress opposition to the war. During a meeting with representatives of the culture council this week, Vladimir Putin bemoaned how Russian cinemas were showing 'stupid and unnecessary' foreign films”
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“‘Mr Nobody Against Putin’ is based on secretly recorded footage by school teacher Pavel Talankin”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No evidence in archive to confirm or refute the claim about the documentary's basis in secretly recorded footage
“The film won the Oscar for Best Documentary earlier this month”
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— No evidence in archive to verify Oscar win claims
“A Russian court has banned the distribution of the award-winning documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin”
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— No evidence in archive to confirm Russian court banning the documentary
“The ban on the documentary was issued by a Chelyabinsk court on Thursday after prosecutors said the film negatively portrayed Russia and promoted 'extremism and terrorism'”
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— No evidence in archive to verify Chelyabinsk court details or legal reasoning
“Directed by David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin, the film follows Talankin – a school teacher - at a school in Karavash in Chelyabinsk region”
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— No evidence in archive to confirm production details or location
“The powerful documentary shows how pro-war propaganda lessons and 'patriotic displays' have been introduced in classrooms after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022”
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— No evidence in archive to verify content claims about classroom propaganda
“Talankin gave the footage to Borenstein, an American filmmaker living in Denmark, in 2024 – the same year he fled Russia”
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— No evidence in archive to confirm timeline or Talankin's departure
“Mr Nobody Against Putin won the Special Jury Award at Sundance, where it premiered in January 2025, and went on to win both the BAFTA and the Academy Award for Best Documentary earlier this month”
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— No evidence in archive to verify award history or premiere details
“Somewhat predictably, Russian news agency RIA Novosti left out the documentary category when it reported the Oscars results earlier this month”
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— No evidence in archive to confirm RIA Novosti's reporting omissions
“The ruling by the Russian court prohibits the documentary’s distribution across the country, including on streaming platforms, 'in the interests of an indefinite number of persons'”
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— No evidence in archive to verify court ruling specifics
“Prosecutors also argued that schoolchildren had been filmed without parental consent”
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“Russia’s presidential human rights council said they would appeal to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and UNESCO to investigate the film’s production”
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