The footage of the documentary, which was a Czech-Danish co-production, was taken by the director and one of the characters of the documentary, Pavel Talankin, who worked as a teacher in Russia. The film was co-produced by Czechs Radovan Síbrt and Alžběta Karásková.
According to the France 24 station, the Russian Council for Human Rights said that it had contacted the organizers of the Oscars and the Director General of UNESCO. He also requests that the American Film Academy check whether the work is in accordance with the ethical and legal standards applied in awarding awards.
Talankin filmed propaganda at a school in Karabash, a city beyond the Urals, especially in connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Before he fled Russia in 2024, he decided to record not only state-mandated activities, but also other events in and outside the school.
According to the Russian Council for Human Rights, footage of minors was used without the consent of the parents or legal representatives of the children and also contrary to the limited purpose for which they were originally taken in a school environment. The Council also claims that the parents and legal representatives of the children featured in the film have appealed to Russian authorities to protect the rights of their offspring.
The Kremlin has repeatedly refused to comment on the film, which won the Oscar for best documentary feature film in Los Angeles.
“I haven’t seen the film,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday when asked what he thought of the film. According to France 24, the film also does not appear in the overview of the results of the Oscars, which was published by the Russian media.
Photo: Pavel Talankin
A copper smelting factory in the Russian city of Karabash, where Pavel Talankin comes from and where his documentary was made.
