11/11/2025
From Deadline Hollywood: The DGA, Primetime Emmy, and Peabody-winning director, producer, and actor Ben Stiller (Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost), and Oscar-winning producing partner John Lesher (Birdman) have joined dissident Russian short film ‘Extremist’ as executive producers.
The award-winning work by Russian-American director Alexander Molochnikov – which is a contender in the live action short category of the 98th Academy Awards – was shot in Europe with a Russian cast and crew, many of whom are living in exile for their safety. The short is inspired by the true story of Sasha Skochilenko, a Russian artist and musician who was arrested and imprisoned for seven years for replacing four price tags with anti-war messages. It explores the personal cost of dissent expressed on a sticker in a time of rising censorship and authoritarianism.
“Alexander’s stunning film Extremist is a riveting, cinematic experience that immerses us in the tragedy of anti-war art and activism in Russia where the human right to free speech comes into conflict with an authoritarian system that is tightening its vice. We strongly believe that people around the world need to see this film,” said Stiller and Lesher.
Further executive producers on the short include Oscar-nominated director Ramin Bahrani (The White Tiger), Oscar-winning producer Odessa Rae (Navalny), Sheryl Crown (Brimstone) and Rick Schwartz (Black Swan). Produced by Jean Chapiro .chap and ourselves Forma Pro Films.
