Director Julia Loktev expands her documentary portrait of persecuted Russian journalists with a sequel that proves equally compelling. Following the five-hour first installment that concluded with Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, “My Undesirable Friends: Part II – Exile” traces the harrowing journeys of reporters forced to flee Moscow after being labeled foreign agents. Shot primarily on an iPhone, the 355-minute film documents their desperate exodus across multiple continents.
The sequel spans several years and five chapters, chronicling how young independent journalists scatter across cities including Warsaw, Istanbul, Prague, and Tel Aviv in search of refuge. Their displacement becomes a complex moral reckoning as they navigate ethical questions about their new host countries while continuing their investigative work. Some eventually reach the United States, where they observe troubling political developments, while others relocate to Kyiv or report from war zones, facing intensifying legal threats and personal hardships.
Through Loktev’s intimate handheld approach and the co-editing work of Michael Taylor, the film creates an engrossing narrative that balances the reporters’ gallon humor with their mounting desperation. Subjects like Ksenia Mironova and Anna Nemzer, the film’s co-director, navigate career advancement and family upheaval while documenting major events including political poisonings and war crimes. Despite their displacement, the journalists maintain focus on telling the stories of those suffering far greater consequences.
Originally reported by Variety →
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