'My Undesirable Friends' Director Julia Loktev

Julia Loktev's documentary 'My Undesirable Friends Part One: Last Air in Moscow' captures the final days of independent journalism in Russia before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Filmed in real time during late 2021 and early 2022, the five-and-a-half-hour film follows a group of young, passionate journalists and activists at TV Rain, Russia’s last independent news channel, as they are branded 'foreign agents' by the state and forced to navigate an increasingly repressive environment. Through intimate, handheld iPhone footage, Loktev documents their resilience, dark humor, and daily lives in small kitchens, studios, and living rooms—spaces where resistance and community thrive. The film’s opening line, 'The world you are about to see no longer exists,' sets a haunting tone, underscoring the irreversible collapse of free expression in Russia. As the war begins, the characters flee into exile, marking the end of an era that Loktev had the rare privilege of witnessing and preserving. The documentary is not just a record of political repression but a deeply human story of love, friendship, and the cost of speaking truth in authoritarian times. Loktev, a Russian-born filmmaker who left the Soviet Union as a child, describes her approach as instinctive and scene-based, rejecting traditional documentary structures in favor of a cinematic, novelistic rhythm. She shot the entire film on an iPhone, using multiple microphones to capture immersive sound, which she considers essential to intimacy and emotional impact. Editing was done in scenes, guided by Frederick Wiseman’s philosophy of letting each moment reveal its own truth. The film’s structure—five chapters, no music, sharp cuts, and a lack of exposition—creates a propulsive, urgent rhythm that mirrors the characters’ lived experience. Loktev also confirms that a sequel, 'My Undesirable Friends Part Two: Exile,' is already in post-production, following the same characters as they rebuild their lives across multiple countries. The film’s relevance has only grown since its 2024 premiere, with audiences in the U.S. and beyond drawing parallels to rising authoritarianism at home.