The Cooper Union’s Gardiner Foundation Great Hall Forum presents a free screening of the Oscar-nominated documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin. The film tells the story of Pavel "Pasha" Talankin, a beloved Russian primary school teacher who, after Russia invades Ukraine, is forced to promote state-sanctioned messages as the school’s videographer. Horrified by the transformation of his school and community, he documents intimate and revealing footage of Putin’s regime, capturing the rise of militarized children’s groups, repressive laws, fervent nationalism, and the recruitment of graduating students to fight in the war. When he learns his own life may be at risk, Pasha is forced to plan a dangerous escape from Russia. 

Following the screening, New York Times Opinion columnist M. Gessen will sit down with filmmakers David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin to discuss their unique collaboration and the perils of propaganda. 

Register 

Registration on EventBrite is required. However, an EventBrite ticket does not guarantee entry as this is a first-come-first-served free event. 

M. Gessen is a Russian American author, translator, and journalist who won a George Polk award for opinion writing in 2024. They are the author of 11 books, including The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia, which won the National Book Award in 2017, and previously a staff writer for The New Yorker specializing in European/Russian life and politics, human rights, and gender studies. Gessen was appointed as the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism’s first Distinguished Professor in 2023. 

David Borenstein is documentary director and producer who has received awards at major festivals worldwide, including Sundance, CPH:DOX, and IDFA. In addition to Mr. Nobody Against Putin, his films include Dream Empire (2016) and Can’t Feel Nothing (2024). Borenstein has a background in broadcast journalism and has created long-form films for BBC, PBS, CNN, and ARTE, among many others. 

Until recently, Pavel Talankin was a teacher-organizer at Karabash Primary School #1 in Karabash, Russia. As part of his job, he served as school videographer and instructed children in shooting and editing video. Mr. Nobody Against Putin is his first film.