‘I can say Putin is an idiot — I have that freedom. In Russia that would be dangerous.'
‘I can say Putin is an idiot — I have that freedom. In Russia that would be dangerous.'
‘I can say Putin is an idiot — I have that freedom. In Russia that would be dangerous’
From grenade-throwing contests to marching drills, Pasha Talankin filmed how his school was being used as a military recruiting centre. Now the teacher turned film-maker is in hiding.
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The teacher, Pasha Talankin, was talking to himself, facing his own crossroads, terrified of his own secret plan. Or, rather, talking to every one of us who wonder: what if an accident of history put me, little me, in a situation where I had a moral choice, where to do the right thing risked not just my comfort but my life?
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His documentary, Mr Nobody Against Putin, is a cross between School of Rock and Nineteen Eighty-Four, a surprisingly funny study of how authoritarian regimes break the spirit of all except the most unlikely and pig-headed. It’s at first about a place that couldn’t be further from our minds: a school community in Karabash, a place Russians regard as the back end of nowhere. Yet it’s also relevant to us all: when Mr Nobody Against Putin won the jury prize for international documentary at the Sundance Film Festival the audience gave a standing ovation, many talking of their own concerns of a future where they could be asked to say things they did not believe. Partly produced by a team from the BBC, the film gets its UK premiere at Sheffield DocFest today. I say to Talankin I hope he accepts my definition of him as heroic.
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[Edit typo.]