2026 Academy Award Winner – Best Documentary Feature

Pavel “Pasha” Talankin, a Russian primary schoolteacher with a dog, parrot and wicked sense of humour, becomes an unlikely Michael Moore figure in this quixotic doc he directed with David Borenstein (“Dream Empire”). They capture Talankin’s sardonic take on his toxic copper-smelting town of Karabash and his quiet rebellion against Kremlin propaganda after Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. As militarization seeps into his school, Pasha’s playful narration contrasts with the grim reality of indoctrination and loss. His principled resistance by filming, joking and refusing to teach lies makes for a riveting, courageous portrait of dissent in a place where truth can land you in jail — or a cemetery.-Toronto Star

“An endearing, infuriating, and despairing non-fiction portrait of a country’s final descent into oppressive authoritarianism, all of it shot covertly by one brave teacher, it’s a striking work of rebel cinema.”-The Daily Beast