My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow

Soviet-born American filmmaker Julia Loktev travels to Moscow in 2021 to make a film about independent journalists who have been declared “foreign agents” by Putin’s regime. Just four months later, Russia launches its full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine. Through her friend and co-director of the film, Anna Nemzer, a talk show host on Russia’s last remaining independent news channel, Loktev connects with a community of sharp, warm and funny young women who dare to speak truth to power as they face increasing threats. In Moscow, during the first week of the invasion, Loktev films how journalists initially try to counter Russian propaganda and truthfully report on the war, until all independent media is shut down and they are forced to flee the country. Structured in five chapters, the film feels like a cross between a Russian novel and a reality show about a frightening reality. A powerful and intimate look at opposition in a totalitarian society and an extraordinary account of a country on the brink of fascism.