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Film director Julia Loktev returns with her highly anticipated documentary My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow, offering a deeply personal and timely exploration of exile and activism under authoritarian regimes. The film premiered in limited release this summer and has already garnered attention for its unflinching look at life under surveillance in contemporary Russia and its impact on dissident communities abroad.
The documentary weaves archival footage, interviews and personal stories to reveal the complex reality faced by journalists, artists and activists forced into exile. Viewers are introduced to several expatriates based in Moscow who became subjects of state scrutiny. These individuals recount their experiences of censored speeches, surveillance raids and digital censorship, and describe the emotional burden of disconnecting from their country and loved ones.
One focus of the film is the so-called Last Air Radio, a rogue broadcast network operated by exiled journalists in Moscow. The network provided independent news and commentary during heightened political repression. Loktev follows contributors to the Last Air Radio as they flee the country, rebuild their lives in neighbouring states, and continue their mission from abroad.
The trailer showcases stark visuals of empty streets, clandestine interviews and censored messages. Critics have described it as urgent and essential viewing for understanding exile’s human toll in the digital age.
FilmStage praised Loktev for her subtle yet evocative storytelling, noting that the documentary “captures the quiet courage required to witness when silence becomes survival.” Indiewire emphasised the film’s relevance, highlighting the way it “brings to light the lives of those labelled undesirable by authoritarian regimes but compelled to continue resisting through art and journalism.”
My Undesirable Friends is slated to screen at several international festivals this autumn, including human rights and documentary-focused events.
The film serves as both a tribute to the resilience of exiled activists and a warning about the erosion of free expression in an increasingly surveilled world. Loktev’s lens frames exile not just as a consequence of oppression but as a space of creative resistance and endurance.
References –
https://www.indiewire.com/news/trailers/my-undesirable-friends-trailer-julia-loktev-1235140922/