MUBI, the renowned global distributor, streaming platform, and production company, has announced the upcoming release of the highly acclaimed documentary My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow. The film will be available exclusively on MUBI worldwide (excluding Russia and Belarus) starting April 3, 2026. Fans and cinephiles can look forward to the film’s premiere alongside its highly anticipated follow-up, My Undesirable Friends: Part II – Exile, which is slated to premiere later this year on the platform.
Directed and produced by Soviet-born American filmmaker Julia Loktev—known for acclaimed works such as The Loneliest Planet and Day Night Day Night—My Undesirable Friends has been celebrated as a cinematic tour de force. The documentary had its world premiere at the 2025 New York Film Festival and made its international debut at the Berlin International Film Festival, garnering widespread praise from critics and audiences alike.
Set against the stark winter of 2021 in Moscow, the film offers an intimate yet urgent portrait of independent journalists navigating a burgeoning totalitarian regime. Loktev traveled to Russia to document the lives of journalists branded as “foreign agents” by Vladimir Putin’s government. Through her close collaboration with co-director Anna Nemzer, a talk show host at TV Rain—the country’s last remaining independent media outlet—the film introduces viewers to a group of resilient women who refuse to silence their voices despite mounting surveillance and legal threats.
The documentary features vivid portraits of four women: Ksyusha, who continues producing stories while her fiancé languishes in prison; Anna, who hosts everyday heroes of resistance while protecting her daughter from threats; Sonya, who records her podcast from a stark, bare apartment, deliberately stripped of distractions; and Alesya, who conceals her relationship from her traditional mother, suspecting her office is bugged.
As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine unfolds four months later, Loktev captures the journalists’ escalating efforts to counter state propaganda. The film chronicles their struggles as independent media outlets are shut down, leaving exile as the only viable option for many.
Structured across five compelling chapters, My Undesirable Friends seamlessly weaves personal intimacy with urgent political realities. The film has received critical accolades, including the Critics’ Choice Award at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), and has been shortlisted for an Oscar. It stands as a vital chronicle of resistance within a totalitarian society—an increasingly relevant story on the global stage.
Remarkably, Loktev directed, produced, and shot the film as a one-woman crew, with significant contributions from co-director Anna Nemzer and co-editor Michael Taylor, ACE (known for The Farewell). Riva Marker served as a consulting producer, underscoring the film’s tight, focused production.
MUBI’s release of My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow marks a significant moment for documentary cinema, shedding light on the courage of those fighting for truth in oppressive circumstances. The film’s trailer and poster artwork have now been unveiled, building anticipation for its upcoming debut on April 3, 2026.
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