Sawt Falasteen - Three Russia-themed anti-war films shortlisted for Oscars

David Borenstein's "Mr Nobody Against Putin", based on footage smuggled out of Russia, and "My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 - Last Air in Moscow", by US filmmaker Julia Loktev, have been shortlisted in the Documentary Feature Film category.

Borenstein's film documents the abrupt militarisation of a secondary school in Russia's Ural mountains, using footage shot by the school's event coordinator and videographer, Pavel Talankin.

Talankin fled Russia with the hard discs of what would become the documentary.

Russian-born Loktev's documentary -- which entertainment news site Vulture said felt like a "5.5-hour-long panic attack" -- tells the story of independent Russian female journalists in the winter of 2021-2022 in the build-up to Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Exiled Russian filmmaker Alexander Molochnikov's "Extremist", for which Hollywood's Ben Stiller acted as executive producer, has been shortlisted in the Live Action Short Film category.

The film was inspired by the story of 35-year-old Sasha Skochilenko, an artist and musician sentenced to seven years in prison in 2023 for swapping supermarket price tags for messages opposing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

After two years behind bars in a Saint Petersburg jail, she was released in 2024 as part of a prisoner exchange.

"I am glad that, thanks to the fact that the film has been praised by critics and prominent figures in the arts, the issue of repression and political imprisonment in Russia is becoming more visible to people abroad," Skochilenko told AFP.

"This is incredibly important now, when some people in Western countries harbour illusions about the 'Russian world' and what good it might bring."

In November, Stiller said on X he was honoured to be part of the project, praising "the courage to stand up against authoritarian regimes (in any country)".

The inclusion of the Russia-themed films on the shortlist sends a powerful signal, film critic Anton Dolin said.

"It's an anti-war, anti-dictatorial message," he told AFP.

Ekaterina Barabash, another exiled film critic, said: "It's a big deal."

"2,000 Metres to Andriivka", directed by Ukrainian filmmaker and war correspondent Mstyslav Chernov, has also been shortlisted in the documentary feature category.

In 2024, Chernov's harrowing film "20 Days in Mariupol" won the Oscar in the same category.

Nominations for the Academy Awards will be announced on January 22.

P.AbuBaker--SF-PST