My Undesirable Friends: Part I - Last Air in Moscow

My Undesirable Friends: Part I - Last Air in Moscow

November 8, 2025
Presented with the Jonathan B. Murray Center for Documentary Journalism.

Details About the Film

Moscow, Winter 2021: At TV Rain, the only remaining independent television channel, young journalists have been declared "foreign agents” by Putin’s regime and must label their reporting with the disclaimer that they are serving foreign powers. Faced with surveillance or worse, journalists Ksyusha, Anya, Sonya, and Alesya remain dedicated to their profession while trying to hold onto their sanity. However, when Russia invades Ukraine, they must decide whether they will stay or flee into exile. From director Julia Loktev comes an intimate document of journalism on the frontlines of authoritarianism.

This film will be shown in two sections with separate admission. 

November 8 at 1PM: Crackdown - Chapters 1-3 (213 minutes including a 15 minute intermission)

November 9 at 1PM: First Week of War - Chapters 4-5 (125 minutes)

Presented By

Director(s): Julia Loktev
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 324 minutes
Country: United States
Language(s): Russian with English subtitles
Content Warning(s): Combat Situations
Accessibility Options: ListenTech (Hearing Impaired / Personal Amplified Audio Receiver w/optional T-Coil loop)

Film Reviews

"It’s one of the best films of the year, full stop."

–David Fear, Rolling Stone

"We have seen so many documentaries about our past, but few have felt more like a warning about our future."

–Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com

"[...] the point of My Undesirable Friends isn’t to entertain us, but to capture every detail of a democratic movement that was doomed to fail."

–Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter

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