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“Our Communication Had Been Restricted” | David Borenstein, Mr. Nobody Against Putin
Still from Mr. Nobody Against Putin. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. Films are made over many days, but some days are more memorable, and important, than others. Imagine yourself in ten years looking back on this production. What day from your film’s development, production or post do you think you’ll view as the most significant and why?
The making of our film is a story as epic as the film itself. From my perspective, it’s filled with unforgettable moments: the first time I connected with Pasha in Russia, the trust-building conversations we shared over the phone and the nerve-wracking security incidents that kept us awake through long, tense nights.
The most pivotal moment, however, was meeting Pasha in Istanbul to help him leave Russia. For years, our communication had been restricted to phone calls, relying on code words and secure, encrypted channels—always brief and cautious to protect Pasha. Finally, we could meet face to face, embrace, swim in the sea and collaborate in person.
This meeting was also the first time I could share the film I had been editing. Over two years, Pasha had sent me countless hours of footage, and I had worked to shape it into a narrative. By the time we met in Istanbul, I had crafted a rough cut—written and edited by me, narrated by a stand-in, but built entirely from Pasha’s words shared during our many calls. Witnessing his deeply emotional reaction to this cut was the moment I knew, with absolute certainty, that our visions were aligned. I knew we could create something truly special together.
See all responses to our annual Sundance Question here.
