War propaganda has been the subject of great works many times before. Now a rebellious Russian primary school teacher shows its direct invasion into daily life. Pavel “Pasha” Talankin is a popular enthusiastic Russian school teacher who likes small-town life, bad weather, and even dirty panel buildings. His life is disrupted by the war, as he, an employee of an educational institution, must become its instrument. Caught in the centre of a propaganda apparatus that is engulfing society, he is tasked with documenting everything with a camera. But he interprets this in his own way and records things as they really are, not as the military regime wants them to be. The film, directed by Danish documentarist David Borenstein, was made using material that Pasha took out of Russia when he realised he was attracting too much attention and that a noose was tightening round his neck. The result is a quiet, intimate, and for that very reason devastating image of the skewed educational system, and by extension, the entire country. Oscar nominations 2026:Best Documentary Feature Film - WINNER

In communist Czechoslovakia of 1980, Mara dreams of leaving her village to study in the city and become a pilot. But her father, a widowed Ruthenian farmer, insists she stay and work the land. When her village faces destruction due to a new reservoir, their generational conflict intensifies, revealing the struggle between tradition, identity, and the desire for freedom in a context of historical change.

On the lam, criminal Alonzo hides in the circus as The Armless Wonder – a performer who uses his feet to hurl knives. Alonzo keeps the arms he really has concealed to hide his identity. Meanwhile, ringmaster’s daughter Nanon has a phobia of being touched by men, but is romantically pursued by not only Alonzo but the strongman Malabar. Alonzo’s desperation to remain with Nanon will only end in tragedy.