MUBI, the renowned global distribution company, streaming platform and production company, has announced the upcoming release of the acclaimed documentary My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow. The film will be available exclusively on MUBI from April 3, 2026 worldwide (excluding Russia and Belarus). Fans and movie buffs can look forward to the film’s premiere in conjunction with the highly anticipated sequel, My Undesirable Friends: Part II – Exile, scheduled to be released later this year on the platform.
Directed and produced by Soviet-born American director Julia Loktev, known for such acclaimed films as The Loneliest Planet and Day Night Day Night, My Undesirable Friends has been hailed as a cinematic masterpiece. The documentary had its world premiere at the 2025 New York Film Festival and its international debut at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it garnered widespread praise from critics and audiences alike.
Set in the harsh winter of 2021 in Moscow, the film is an intimate and poignant look at an independent journalist navigating a burgeoning totalitarian regime. Loktev traveled to Russia to document the lives of journalists branded “foreign spies” by Vladimir Putin’s government. Working closely with co-director Anna Nemser, a talk show host for TV Rain, the last remaining independent media outlet in the country, the film introduces viewers to resilient women whose voices will not be silenced despite mounting scrutiny and legal threats.
This documentary features vivid portraits of four women. Kushsha continues to create stories even as her fiancé languishes in prison. Anna welcomes the heroes of the Resistance every day while protecting her daughter from threats. Sonya records a podcast in her bleak apartment, intentionally free of distractions. And Alesha hides her relationship from her traditional mother, suspecting that her office is being bugged.
As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine unfolds four months later, Loktev captures journalists’ escalating efforts to counter state propaganda. The film chronicles their struggles as independent media is shut down and asylum is the only viable option for many.
My Undesirable Friends is organized into five fascinating chapters that seamlessly weave together personal intimacy and urgent political reality. The film received critical acclaim, including the Critics’ Choice Award at the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival (IDFA), and was shortlisted for an Oscar. This is an important record of resistance in a totalitarian society and an increasingly important story on the global stage.
Remarkably, Loktev directed, produced, and shot the film with a one-woman crew, with significant contributions from co-director Anna Nemser and co-editor Michael Taylor (ACE, known for The Farewell). Riva Marker served as consulting producer and emphasized the film’s meticulous and focused production.
MUBI’s Unwanted Friends: Part I – The Last Air of Moscow commemorates an important moment for documentary cinema and highlights the courage of those who fight for truth in oppressive conditions. The trailer and poster artwork for this movie have been released, raising expectations for its release on April 3, 2026.
- Email: neill@outloudculture.com
Source: OutLoud! Culture – outloudculture.com
