The Oscar-nominated feature documentary “Nobody Against Putin” will be screened at the 32nd Sedona International Film Festival.
The film, which had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, tells an insider’s perspective on the impact of President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine on the lives of Russian children. Directed by David Borenstein and co-directed by Pavel Tarankin, the documentary follows Tarankin, a Russian teacher in a small town, as he secretly documents the transformation of the school into a propaganda and recruitment center in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Kino Lorber acquired North American rights to the film earlier this month. On Tuesday, “Nobody Against Putin” was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Feature Documentary.
In addition to “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” SIFF’s lineup includes prestigious 2025 documentaries from Sundance (“Andre Is an Idiot”), Venice (“Kim Novak’s Vertigo”) and DC:DOX (“Steal This Story!”). SIFF, which will be held from February 21st to March 1st, will screen a total of 36 full-length documentaries. The festival lineup also includes 32 short documentaries, 36 feature-length narrative films, and 42 animations and animated shorts.
SIFF Executive Director Patrick Schweiss said, “We are looking forward to a spectacular film festival this year, bringing together incredible films from around the world that are thought-provoking, inspirational, entertaining and engaging. Movie fans can expect to be moved, inspired and entertained for nine straight days with an incredible lineup of films, special events, filmmaker conversations, workshops and panel discussions.”
The festival kicks off on February 21st with “In Love with Marilyn,” a cabaret-style concert show starring Samantha Stevens that celebrates Marilyn Monroe’s upcoming 100th birthday.
Sophie Hyde’s Jinpa, starring Olivia Colman and John Lithgow, and Al Pacino’s meta-drama Billy Knight are both featured films at SIFF. “Jinpa” is about director Hannah (Coleman) who takes transgender non-binary teenager Frances (Orde Mason-Hyde) to Amsterdam to visit her gay grandfather “Jinpa” (Lithgow). Billy Knight follows aspiring filmmakers Alex (Stranger Things’ Charlie Heaton) and Emily (Booksmart’s Diana Silvers) as they navigate the path between youthful ambition and true artistic expression. When Alex discovers a box containing an unfinished screenplay and a handkerchief inscribed with the name “Billy Knight,” he sets out to uncover his late father’s creative legacy. Pacino stars as the enigmatic title character, who is both a muse and a ghost from past films.
Other SIFF featured films include: Nick Davies’ documentary You Had to Be There is about the modest Toronto production of Godspell, the hippie musical that became a historic incubator of modern comedy. “A Break In The Rain” is Don Scardino’s story about grief and reconciliation. “Unbalanced,” Dale Griffith Stamos’ story about the changing cultural landscape of higher education amid the #Me-Too movement and tightening Title IX regulations. And Stephen Ward’s feature film “Dust to Malibu” is about a father trying to reconcile with his estranged daughter while on a road trip to scatter her mother’s ashes in California.
Founded in 1995 as a three-day exhibition of independent film, SIFF has grown to become the largest single annual event in the Sedona community. SIFF aims to expand our understanding of the human condition, raise social consciousness, and present thought-provoking films and conversations to entertain and inspire our communities and the world’s population.
SIFF films will be shown at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre, Alice Gilsheldon Theater, Harkins Theater Sedona 6, and Sedona Performing Arts Center. Approximately 20 films will be screened each day during the nine-day festival.
Participants for the SIFF panel discussion and Q&A will be announced in the coming days.
The full Sedona International Film Festival lineup:
Story features:
break in the rain
no orgasm
view ideal
billy knight
Crossing Delancey
dream
dust to malibu
Ethan Bloom
fantasy life
frontier
gazelle
imbalance
Isola
Jinpa
lead
memo
error
Mr. Burton
Muganga
Omaha
Once Upon My Mother
one stupid thing
piece of us
Reading Lolita in Tehran
shambhala story
switch & bait
Fallow people
The future awaits
marching band
Mohawk
most valuable cargo
secret floor
Schroudinger
snare
movement is friction
zoe
Documentary features:
illuminated life
Life Outside: American Mountain Guide
andre is an idiot
best day ever
condemnation
comparsa
Creed USA
dream boat
dream touch believe
Kim Novak’s “Vertigo”
little singer
mozart’s sister
Mr. Nobody opposes President Putin
dear theo
my sunny side
Natchez
paint me a load out of here
remain native
road 190
room that can be moved
sons of detroit
starman
Steal this story!
Stronger than I thought
bend in the river
pastor and doctor
cowboy
ghana eyes
The Gardener, the Buddhist, and the Spy
last dive
prince of renaissance
trade secret
underland
Voiced by: Danny Gans Story
wider than the sky
you had to be there
Short documentary:
mysterious ornithology
sacred pause
Aldo’s Festival of Insects
arctic alchemy
death of a great machine
Di Sarno – The story of Emilio’s ballat
diver
Exodus
houston white beam
I’m everything
I Am Somebody
icebreaker
Just Jules
La Orquesta
Last days at Trinity Lake
miles of life
my memory wall
nice girls don’t ask questions
Old Girl in a Tutu: Susan Rennie Destroys Art History
Land of Healing, Birds Stop
Perseid meteor shower
Lovina’s choice
sally’s ashes
Shantae rides shotgun
birds
conscience file
petal pusher
Rebel Leaf: Seed of Hope
Van Gogh and the hospital garden
voice from the abyss
what the river knows
Please tell us your opinion
Narrative and animated shorts:
a matter of time
babka
beast of the seine
dying should be easy
benchless
Daniel van den Bergh passes away
disco beat
dishwasher
Don’t be late, Myra
egg timer
emergency
The life that disappeared
first time
fitted sheets
fresh & blood
forever green
Fund Box – Love Story
grim & sunshine
grind
High School Detention The Musical
i love you more than dinosaurs
I often dream of trains
leaf
lonely
massage therapy
Miriam
olive
taste of memories
art of inflation
demon core
journal
remaining
the other side
The Reach
The Ride
Dunamase castle stone
vote
whistle
two people exchanging saliva
undelivered
waiting for aphrodite
wild kind
