The China Mail - For Russia's 'Mr Nobody', Hollywood leap feels 'unreal'

This weekend Pavel Talankin will walk into Hollywood's biggest night as the co‑director of an Oscar‑nominated documentary exposing the propaganda and indoctrination of children in Russian schools.

Such vertiginous twists of fate should be "illegal", Talankin joked, speaking to AFP from Los Angeles.

"If you had told me two years ago that things would be like this, I would have laughed in your face," said Talankin, who previously worked at a secondary school in the industrial town of Karabash in the Urals.

"It's unreal -- things like this just don't happen."

"Mr Nobody Against Putin," nominated in the Documentary Feature Film category, is based on hours of footage Talankin smuggled out of Russia after teaming up with US filmmaker David Borenstein.

After the invasion of Ukraine, Russia outlawed all criticism of the military, and cooperating with foreigners could lead to treason charges.

Talankin fled the country in the summer of 2024 with the hard drives containing what would become a 90‑minute documentary, leaving behind his mother, brothers and sisters.

- Mingling with stars -

The film won a BAFTA award in London last month for best documentary, one of the last major ceremonies before the Oscars. Monica Bellucci read out the winning title, while Prince William watched from the front row.

Talankin, who turned 35 on Wednesday, looked dapper in his bow tie.

"I liked how I looked in it. I kind of felt like I belonged with them," he said, laughing.

He expressed regret that he did not get a chance to speak with the future king, but he has had plenty of opportunities to rub shoulders with Hollywood royalty during the traditional pre‑Oscar events.

Last month's Academy Award nominees' luncheon and "class photo", where Talankin is pictured in the centre next to Benicio Del Toro, was a bit of a shock.

"I went out for a smoke. And walking toward me was Leonardo DiCaprio," he recounted. "I was a bit stunned, because never in my life had I imagined a scenario where I'd go to the smoking room and Leonardo DiCaprio would be coming straight at me."

But apart from celebrity lunches and selfies with the likes of Timothee Chalamet, life continues as usual, said Talankin, who has been learning English as he shuttles between the United States and Europe to promote the film.

"Of course, it's nice that people are watching the film, coming to screenings, and asking questions -- that people aren't indifferent," he said. "But I wouldn't go so far as to say that my star has risen."

But even if he does his best not to show it, his life has been an emotional roller coaster.

While the documentary received positive reviews in the West, Russian propaganda has launched a smear campaign against him.

"There has been so much pressure on him," said Radovan Sibrt, one of the film's producers.

"But Pasha seems to be handling it fine so far. With ease and nobleness," he said, using the videographer's informal first name.

He said Talankin's voice was getting "stronger and stronger".

The film has proved polarising even among anti‑Kremlin Russians.

Some have criticised its raw, unpolished feel, while others argued that children were filmed without parental consent.

"Sometimes filming this way is the only way to get information," Talankin said. "Especially in a country like Russia, where absolutely everything is closed off."

- 'Fog of deception' -

Supporters say the film serves as a powerful mirror to Russian society.

"For us Russians this is a crucial document of our era -- one that compels us to look closely at what is happening to the country, to its people, and to the young generation," said Leonid Parfenov, one of Russia's best‑known journalists and documentary filmmakers.

Prominent documentary director Vitaly Mansky said that by using plain language, Talankin's film lays bare the intensity of propaganda.

"It shows at the very grassroots level -- and not with the help of political scientists or experts -- how this whole fog of deception is manufactured," Mansky told AFP.

Talankin said he sometimes feels nostalgic about his old job and still sees the Karabash school in his dreams.

He does not know what he will do next, but hopes the film's success will generate new projects.

Sibrt, the producer, said a theatre play and a book might be in the pipeline.

"There are already some options coming up," though it would be up to Talankin to choose, he said. "He might surprise us again."

K.Leung--ThChM