Pavel Talankin, now in exile in Europe, accepted the award alongside the film’s U.S. co-director, David Borenstein. The film triumphed over favorites including The Perfect Neighbor, The Alabama Solution, Come See Me in the Good Light, and Cutting Through Rocks.
Borenstein used his acceptance speech to reflect on the film’s message, saying, “Mr Nobody Against Putin is about how you lose your country. And what we saw when working with this footage is that you lose it through countless, small, little acts of complicity. When a government murders people on the streets of our major cities, when we don’t say anything, when oligarchs take over the media and control how we produce and consume it – we all face a moral choice. But luckily, even a nobody is more powerful than you think.”
Talankin made an emotional plea on behalf of countries affected by the conflict, emphasizing the human toll of war: “Instead of shooting stars… they have shooting bombs and shooting drones. In the name of our future, in the name of all of our children, stop all of these wars now.”
The win marks the third time this decade that a film critical of the Russian government has received the Oscar, following Navalny in 2023 and 20 Days in Mariupol in 2024. Last year’s award went to No Other Land, an Israeli-Palestinian co-production documenting the destruction of a Palestinian community in the West Bank.
Speaking to the press backstage, Borenstein also reflected on working with Russian colleagues during production. “One interesting thing about working with a team of Russians throughout this process has been my desire as an American to constantly compare the situation in America to Russia,” he said. “But a lot of my Russian colleagues and friends always said, ‘No, no, it’s not the same situation. It’s actually happening quicker in America than it’s been happening in Russia.’ Trump is moving a lot quicker than Putin in his early years.”
The film’s recognition underscores the Academy’s continued spotlight on works that examine authoritarianism, media manipulation, and the human cost of war, offering both a global and deeply personal perspective on modern conflicts.