Ben Stiller is almost certainly a quadruple threat. He’s acted (Dodgeball, Meet the Fockers), written (Zoolander, Tropic Thunder), produced (Severance), and directed (Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost). One of his less-talked-about passions? Championing younger filmmakers steadfast in their commitment to brave and evocative storytelling.
Case in point: Stiller’s executive producer credit on Extremist, a 17-minute short film from dissident Russian filmmaker Alexander Molochnikov, now officially a contender in the 98th Academy Awards‘ live action short category. Dramatizing real-life events, the film is an urgent portrayal of authoritarian oppression and the cost of freedom.
It tells the story of former political prisoner Sasha Skochilenko (played by Viktoriya Miroshnichenko), a young Russian artist whose act of protest — replacing grocery store price tags with anti-war messages about her country’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — saw her prosecuted and jailed under Russia‘s “fake news” law. She was released in August of 2024 as part of a complex international exchange of prisoners.
“The main fear was to cause trouble to Sasha, as she was still in prison,” Molochnikov says about making Extremist, filmed in Latvia to ensure the safety of its Russian cast and crew. “I really didn’t want to mess it up and make it worse for her. And then eventually, it just coincidentally happened that right before the shoot, she got out. And on some spiritual level, I thought that maybe this is connected.” He thinks of another friend, a theater director, still stuck in a Russian jail. “I will definitely try making that film as well,” he says. “If films pull honest and heroic people out of prisons, I think they’re worth making.”
Stiller came aboard as an EP alongside John Lesher (Birdman), Ramin Bahrani (Chop Shop), Odessa Rae (The Voice of Hind Rajab), and Sheryl Crown (The Killing of a Sacred Deer). He found himself immediately moved by Molochnikov’s short. “It’s important for people to know that we, as Americans, can express ourselves without repercussions — at least for now,” Stiller tells The Hollywood Reporter. “And for [Alexander] the filmmaker, there’s a sacrifice that you have to make if you want to have a freedom of expression that just doesn’t exist for people who are living in Russia.”
Molochnikov’s journey so far is testament to the war waged on creatives in his native Russia: He acted and directed in productions at the prestigious Moscow Art Theatre before his plays were barred over the Molochnikov’s anti-war stance. Following a short stint in prison, he fled to the U.S. and graduated from Columbia’s directing program last year. Since debuting at Telluride, Extremist has been acquired by the New Yorker, earned Molochnikov two BAFTA Student Film Awards — and soon, he hopes, maybe even an Oscar nod.
Below, THR talks to the director and Stiller about the impact of Extremist. They discuss depicting the real-life consequences activists face in Russia, why making the Oscars shortlist was vital, and what tempted an award-winning Hollywood star onto this short: “It was such an honor for me to be asked to put my name on this film.”
What spurred you on to make this film?
ALEXANDER MOLOCHNIKOV The actual moment I decided to do it was when I saw the comments of the old lady who reported Sasha Skochilenko. She was so cold-hearted and said that they deserve it, that the court will decide how many years, and [that] she would give them a good whip. This phrase really struck me. Then I thought: Okay, this is a story, because there is these two people that love each other, and this woman that lives in the same building with them, and doesn’t even know at first that she’s putting [one of] them into prison for seven years and basically taking away their freedom forever. And when she realizes it, she just sticks to her opinions. From there, we developed the script.
Alexander Molochnikov at the 2025 Gotham Awards.
Getty
Have you a relationship with the real-life Sasha as well? Did you talk to her about making this?
MOLOCHNIKOV Yeah, of course. Once I wrote the first draft, I connected to her girlfriend — who wasn’t in prison, she was out — and sent her the draft. She passed [it] on through lawyers into prison to Sasha, and then Sasha gave very small feedback from prison, and we went on to the next draft and the next draft… Then Sasha got swapped right before we started shooting, so we had a chance to talk. And actually, tomorrow is something incredible, because she will join the screening with us on Zoom, and it’s the first time she will be actually talking about the film.
And has she seen it already?
ALEXANDER MOLOCHNIKOV Yes, they loved it. They’re very pleased.
Also showcased in your film is the significance of Sasha’s LGBTQ+ relationship. Can you talk about that decision and how these elements often go hand in hand when resisting oprression?
MOLOCHNIKOV Yeah, sure. It’s very hard, honestly, as far as I understand and all I know about it, to be LGBTQ+ in Russia. Before the war, it was a little easier. During the war, it’s literally becoming horrible and almost unbearable. It’s scary to hold hands, which we have in the film, when they ride the train. And it’s important that there is so much light and love and beauty in their relationship — and color, actually, cinematically, [there’s] a lot of colorful clothes, a colorful apartment. The art that they do is kind of an inner immigration I would say: creating a little beautiful world inside more gray, oppressive, Russian realism.
It was gorgeous. Beautifully shot. Ben, as someone who likely watches a lot of short films, what drew you to Extremist?
BEN STILLER Well, I just got an email from a friend of mine who’s a filmmaker and a teacher who said that he saw this amazing film that one of his students had made, and I should check it out. And I watched it, and I was so moved by it. I thought it was so incredibly well-made and so moving and so effective in taking this event that happened and turning it into this very relatable story. If anybody watches it, they’re so moved by it. I felt it was really important to try to get as many people to see it as possible.
Why do. you think Hollywood and people in our industry need to see films like this?
STILLER First of all, just the real-life impact that a movie like this can have and telling a story about what’s going on for people living in Russia, [for] people who actually want to protest the war and the real-life consequences. But also, it’s important for people to know that we, as Americans, can express ourselves without repercussions — at least for now. And for [Alexander] the filmmaker, there’s a sacrifice that you have to make if you want to have a freedom of expression that just doesn’t exist for people who are living in Russia. I think it’s important for people to be aware of that.
Of course. Alexander, was there any fear around making this film about the Russian regime?
MOLOCHNIKOV Definitely not for me personally, because I realized and understood and decided for myself that I’m not coming back a while before we started shooting. But honestly, the main fear was to cause trouble to Sasha, as she was still in prison. I really didn’t want to mess it up and make it worse for her. And then eventually, it just coincidentally happened that right before the shoot, she got out. And on some spiritual level, I thought that maybe this is connected.
I then reached out to another political prisoner who’s a friend of mine, a theater director. She’s doing theater in prison now because she can’t do it anywhere else, of course, and they’re even taking that away from her, and I reached out to her lawyer, and I said, “What do you think about us doing this?” And she said, “Yes, the only hope is in [prisoner] exchange. The only hope is for Europe or America to push and pull those political prisoners out.” And just recently, [Belarus] actually released all political prisoners, which was quite incredible. And I’m sure it’s the result of the communications with the West. It was like a whole bus of people, each of them sacrificed their freedom for what they believe in, and they are all free. To me, it’s such an important thing to participate in as an artist and do what I can as a filmmaker to affect that. And I think that I will definitely try making that film as well, and I hope eventually it would lead to another friend of mine getting out of prison. If films pull honest and heroic people out of prisons, I think they’re worth making.
I couldn’t agree more. Have you been enjoying the positive reactions to the film so far?
STILLER I was just going to say: Anybody I’ve shown the film to, they’re very moved by it. It’s just beautifully made. Separate from the political statement it’s making, it’s just a very moving and well-made short film. So, when you can find a piece of art that exists on its own, but also the message is so powerful — that combination is very special. And I think that’s what’s so wonderful about this movie, is it just exists on its own as a piece of art that can affect you regardless of anything else.
MOLOCHNIKOV I would add that, we’re having screenings now, lots of them and lots of people see it — people who are not filmmakers that are coming to the cinema. Americans watch it. And each time we open it to the audience and they ask questions, more and more people are asking: “What do you recommend us doing? It terrifies me and, I don’t know, impresses me, the questions. Because I guess, literally in the last month or so, there are so many changes in the world. I don’t want to go too deep into that, but people are really interested in the story in the context of the U.S. today.
This is officially on the 2026 Oscars shortlist. Accolades aren’t why you do this job. But what do you hope Academy voters and general viewers take away from Extremist?
STILLER Academy voters appreciate good filmmaking, but really it’s the incredible platform that the Oscars would give this movie — have already given this movie — and obviously to be nominated and to win, the amount of people who can see the film just grows exponentially. And that’s really the most impactful thing, I think.
MOLOCHNIKOV Going through this process of delivering the film to the Academy, I’m quite impressed. Maybe this is very banal, what I will say. [Laughs.] But it’s just my impression from the outside and first time being in [seeing] how the whole system of the Academy works, that it really takes care of older people. And some Academy members come up to me and say, “I won in 1979.” I realized that it’s not a young person who is going to the screenings, [but] they’re still, through these films, aware and interested in what’s going on in the world. This is a very, very specific way to communicate with very different generations, and a really huge thanks to the process already that it got the film out so much, and to a wider audience. I do want to thank Ben for joining because, of course, it completely changed the life of this film, and I’ve been following what Ben is doing in art and outside of art. To me, it’s a huge honor to have such an executive producer on board.
STILLER It was such an honor for me to be asked to put my name on this film. To have somebody make a beautiful, amazing movie and then say, “Hey, do you want to put your name on it?” Sure, of course! You know? It’s like, “Why not?” But in all seriousness, to be able to help in any way to get the word out about this movie felt like, for me, it was a no-brainer. And I was grateful that [Alexander] came to me.
MOLOCHNIKOV Sorry, I can’t stop! But as a filmmaker, just talking about the cinematic aspect — we have an ending that is, I think, surreal. I don’t want to spoil it, but I know that people don’t expect it and so on. And a lot of it is, in a way, inspired by Ben as a director, because Ben does play with reality in his films, with realism and the contrast of fantasy — as far as I understand, I’m not a critic — and that is very inspiring. It’s always been inspiring to me. Plus, Ben travelled to Ukraine and hasn’t been indifferent in terms of politics. So to me, all of this is not a totally coincidental match.