Highs and lows for Jewish creatives at the 2026 Oscars
Robert Redford tribute from Barbra Streisand, Marty is not so Supreme and Mr. Nobody Against Putin wins Academy Award for Best Documentary
In the end, the most memorable Oscar moment for Jewish cinema this year did not happen on the Dolby Theatre stage — but in a bathroom.
Moments after Mr Nobody Against Putin won the Academy Award for Best Documentary, its co-director David Borenstein found himself taking refuge in the toilets, which was the only place quiet enough to speak to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
The film, commissioned by Storyville’s Lucie Kon, whose backing helped bring the story to international attention, tells the story of the documentary’s co-director, Pavel Talankin. A Russian school teacher and videographer, he continued filming inside his school as Vladimir Putin reshaped the country’s education system by imposing ideological control in classrooms.
Reflecting on the win, Kon said: “This is a project that has taken many years to come to fruition, and it was challenging on so many levels. That’s what makes this recognition feel so meaningful – it’s incredibly rewarding to see something so risky and difficult be embraced in this way.
“This is a film like no other. It was such a special collaboration, and there was something genuinely magical about the way we all came together to make it happen. Seeing Pasha (Pavel) up on stage accepting the award was a really emotional moment for all of us.”
Elsewhere during the ceremony, one of a few Jewish cultural moments saw Barbra Streisand delivering a very personal story about Robert Redford, who died last September and closing with singing a few lines of “Memories” from The Way We Were, the 1973 film in which they starred together.
Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme, which went in with nine Oscar nominations, did not win a single statue. Its star, Timothée Chalamet, who lost to Sinners’ Michael P Jordan for Best Actor, remained part of the evening’s humour as the butt of several jokes, following his recent comments about ballet and opera losing their cultural relevance.
The night’s biggest prize went to Paul Thomas Anderson, whose film One Battle After Another won both Best Director and Best Picture. Cheering him on in the audience was his Jewish partner, actor and comedian Maya Rudolph .
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