The Danish Oscar Committee, made up of representatives from the film industry and the Danish Film Institute, has chosen to submit David Borenstein’s documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin as Denmark’s official Oscar entry in the International Feature Film Award category. The film now enters the race against films from around the world to be shortlisted for the Academy Awards, which will take place on March 15, 2026.
The film was submitted by Made in Copenhagen and qualified based on its commercial Danish theatrical release on March 22.
Tine Fischer, Director of the Danish Film Institute and Chair of the Danish Oscar Committee, says:
"This year’s shortlisted Danish Oscar titles show great diversity and strength, and after thorough consideration, the committee has decided to select Mr. Nobody Against Putin. It is a courageous film that dares to approach one of the most complex and conflict-filled issues of our time—without losing sight of the human dimension. It balances humor, absurdity, and seriousness with great precision, and testifies to what documentary film can achieve when it insists on both form and content. It is a film that does not offer easy answers, but asks important questions—and precisely for that reason, we believe it has international potential."
About Mr. Nobody Against Putin
In Mr. Nobody Against Putin, we follow Pasha, an ordinary teacher in a small Russian town. He is known as the school’s funny, creative, and unconventional adult, loved by his students. But everyday life at the school changes drastically when Putin introduces propaganda and war lessons into the curriculum following his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Instead of teaching students to think independently, Pasha is now forced to film and document children reciting meaningless texts and teachers reading incomprehensible slogans to their classes. In protest—and in complete secrecy—Pasha begins smuggling the videos out of Russia. At the same time, he starts filming how propaganda and war affect the society he lives in. Pasha’s footage reveals the transformation of Russian society, Putin’s iron grip on the population, and the heartbreaking moments when former students are sent to the front.
Through Pasha’s personal story, audiences gain a rare, intimate, and contemporary insight into Putin’s Russia. The film serves as a reminder that courage can take many forms when everything seems lost.
The film is directed by David Borenstein and co-directed by Pasha Talankin.
Produced by Helle Faber for Made in Copenhagen with support from the Danish Film Institute.
The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, where it won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award, and its Danish premiere at CPH:DOX in March 2025. Since its world premiere, the film has been screened at numerous international film festivals, including 19 in the U.S., and has so far received 10 festival awards.
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Danish Oscar Committee
The Danish Oscar Committee consists of Danish film professional representatives appointed from various film associations and guilds as requested by the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts & Science (AMPAS).
- Steen Johannesen // Danish Film Editing Society
- Louise Mieritz // Danish Actors Association
- Søren Søndergaard // Danish Cinema Owners
- Ina Bruhn // Danish Screenwriters
- Nanna Frank Rasmussen // Danish Film Critics Society
- Peter Hausner // Danish Directors Association
- Jacob Neiiendam // The Danish Filminstitute
- Tine Fischer // The Danish Filminstitute, Head
- Lone Korslund // Danish Producers Association
- Louise McLaughlin // Danish Association of Cinematographers
Oscars rules and dates
Each country may submit one film for nomination in the International Feature Film category.
To be eligible in the International Feature Film category a film's domestic release date must be no earlier than October 1 2024 and no later than September 30 2025 and be publicly exhibited for at least seven consecutive days in a commercial motion picture theater.
In order for films to more easily meet theatrical exhibition requirements, the Academy will allow films to qualify outside the country of origin, provided the film is theatrically exhibited outside of the United States and its territories for at least seven consecutive days in a commercial motion picture theater.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly non-English dialogue track.
Full details on rules and eligibility can be found here
The Danish Oscar committee will meet again on September 17, where the final candidate will be determined.
The submission deadline is October 1. The Academy will announce all shortlists on December 17, including the 15 films that have a chance to become one of the five nominees in the International Feature Film category. The 98th Oscars take place on March 15 2026 in Los Angeles.
Danish films and the Oscars through the years
Four Danish films have won an Oscar in the International Feature Film category: Thomas Vinterberg's 'Another Round' in 2021, Susanne Bier's 'In a Better World' in 2011, Bille August's 'Pelle the Conqueror' in 1989, and Gabriel Axel's 'Babette's Feast' in 1988.
Below is an overview of Danish Oscar entries in the International Feature Film category over the last six years sorted by awards ceremony year:
2024 The Promised Land / Nikolaj Arcel – Oscar shortlist
2023 Holy Spider / Ali Abbasi – Oscar shortlist
2022 Flee / Jonas Poher Rasmussen / Oscar nomination
2021 Another Round / Thomas Vinterberg / Oscar winner
2020 Queen of Hearts / May el-Toukhy
2019 The Guilty / Gustav Möller / Oscar shortlist