Alyth member Lucie Kon has won a prestigious BAFTA as Commissioning Editor and Executive Producer of BBC Storyville’s Mr Nobody Against Putin, which was named Best Documentary at the ceremony on Sunday evening.
Lucie Kon with her BAFTA
The film, which can be watched on BBC iPlayer, showcases the heroic recordings of Pavel Talankin – an event coordinator at a primary school in a small Russian mining town – who became an unlikely dissident.
Co-directed by Pavel and David Borenstein, it features two years of covert recordings, offering a chilling portrait of how propaganda seeps into everyday life as patriotic lessons and military drills replace regular classes following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking to The Jewish News, Lucie said: “From the moment I was pitched the story, I knew I had to be involved – that it had to be on the BBC – but I would never in a million years have thought it would have the impact that it has.
“Working with the team to shape and share this vital story, and now winning a BAFTA for work that I have loved and been so lucky to do, is just incredible.”
Speaking at the ceremony, David – a Denmark-based American filmmaker – hailed Pavel’s bravery, saying: “Two years ago he was a teacher – now he’s standing here as a BAFTA winner.
“When a treason law threatened him with imprisonment, he kept filming. When a police car started monitoring him outside his house, he kept filming, and when he had to sacrifice his entire life in Russia to smuggle out this footage, he didn’t hesitate.”