Two documentaries offer a harsh look at Vladimir Putin’s regime, one shedding light on the Russian press and another on the heroic rescue of animals trapped behind enemy lines in Ukraine.
“Checkpoint Zoo,” directed by Joshua Zeman, tells the story of a daring rescue operation that saved thousands of animals from a zoo under siege during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The documentary features footage of the evacuation, capturing the terror faced by the animals and the bravery of the zookeepers who risked their lives to save them.
Meanwhile, “My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 – Last Air In Moscow” follows a group of young journalists at TV Rain, a Russian news network that was labeled a foreign agent and eventually declared a criminal organization due to its reporting on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The documentary sheds light on the regime’s brutal suppression of free speech and its impact on the press.
The timing of these documentaries couldn’t be more relevant, coming as US President Donald Trump is set to meet with Putin in Alaska today, seeking a ceasefire in the ongoing war in Ukraine. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been excluded from the talks.
Source: https://deadline.com/2025/08/indie-films-opening-my-undesirable-friends-checkpoint-zoo-1236489338