San Francisco Frontiers - Russia slams Oscar-winning anti-Putin documentary

Small-town Russian school videographer Pavel Talankin, 35, won the Academy Award together with US filmmaker David Borenstein for the documentary, which chronicles pro-war patriotic lessons introduced in Russia's schools under President Vladimir Putin amid Moscow's Ukraine offensive.

Talankin, who fled Russia with the smuggled footage and now openly opposes the war, was instructed to film the propaganda lessons by the school administration, eventually deciding to secretly team up with the US director.

Russia's human rights council, a government body, said that "images of minors were used without obtaining the consent of their parents" in the documentary.

It added that the footage was intended as an "internal record of school activities for educational use", but then was used for commercial purposes.

The council said it requested the Academy that awards the Oscars and UN cultural agency UNESCO to launch an investigation.

Moscow has not commented on the substance of the film. State-controlled media largely ignored the award.

The documentary has proved polarising even among anti‑Kremlin Russians, and some argued that children were filmed without parental consent.

Talankin fled Russia in 2024, leaving behind his mother and siblings.

Since sending troops against neighbouring Ukraine four years ago, the Kremlin has suppressed opposition to the war.

Authorities have introduced numerous patriotic activities across the country, especially in schools and universities, in what critics say is a mobilisation and militarisation of society to support the offensive.

F.Edwards--SFF