Oscar Winner David Borenstein’s Political Speech

Oscar-winning director David Borenstein took the opportunity during his acceptance speech Sunday night to express strong political views, criticizing a government that he claimed is responsible for violence in the streets and an oligarchy that he feels manipulates the media.

Borenstein, who is based in Copenhagen, received the award for best documentary for Mr. Nobody Opposes President Putin, which tells the story of a school teacher who indoctrinates her students to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In exile in Europe, Pavel Tarankin shared the honor with Borenstein, who launched into a political discourse. He remarked, “Mr. Nobody Against Putin illustrates how we lose our country. It’s through numerous small acts of complicit behavior. When we allow the government to kill people on our streets, when we remain silent as the oligarchy gains control. Thankfully, we have more power than we think.”

Borenstein’s speech suggested parallels between the scenario depicted in his film and events he has observed in the U.S.

He specifically raised concerns about the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s actions targeting undocumented immigrants in cities like Minneapolis, as well as worries about corporate consolidations involving media giants like Paramount and CNN following a potential merger with Warner Bros.

Later, in the Oscars press room, Borenstein elaborated on his earlier comments, specifically mentioning Donald Trump and discussing his perspective on the current American landscape.

“Working with the Russian team during this project, I found it intriguing how, as Americans, we often want to compare our situation to Russia,” he noted. “However, my Russian colleagues would often assert that it’s not the same. In fact, they believed changes were occurring more rapidly in the U.S. than in Russia. In the early days, it seemed like Trump was accelerating much faster than Putin.”