Overview
- The international coproduction from DR, the BBC, ZDF and ARTE pairs U.S. director David Borenstein with Russian co-director Pavel Talankin.
- Talankin documented mandated patriotic events in Karabasch, kept material he was ordered to delete, smuggled the footage abroad and ultimately went into exile.
- In their Oscar speeches, Borenstein warned about moral complicity when governments commit violence and oligarchs control media, while Talankin called to stop the wars for the sake of children.
- The 90‑minute documentary is available to stream in full for free on ARTE and ZDF online platforms and can also be found on YouTube.
- The win has heightened contention, with Russian locals and media questioning the filming of children and translation choices, Ukrainian critics saying the film underrepresents Ukrainian suffering, and the Kremlin offering no substantive comment.