The film “My Undesirable Friends” by director Julia Loktev offers a haunting record of Russian independent media’s last gasps under Putin. In 2021, Loktev began shadowing her friend Anna Nemzer, a host on the country’s only remaining independent news channel, TV Rain, which was designated as a “foreign agent”. Loktev followed two young female journalists, Sonya Groysman and Olga Churakova, who started a podcast to document how their new notoriety affected their lives.
As filming progressed, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, leading to the shutdown of TV Rain and other outlets. Loktev’s film chronicles the rapid collapse of Russian civil society and independent press, with many journalists facing intimidation, arrest, or exile. Despite these risks, most of the featured journalists continued to work, driven by a desire to create a record of truth.
The film showcases the resilience and determination of these young women, who risked everything to speak out against Putin’s regime. Loktev’s own experience as an American journalist echoes the struggles faced by her Russian counterparts. “We’re experiencing something we have not experienced before,” she said. “We go outside, there’s nice cafes, life looks normal. And meanwhile, men in hooded masks are snatching people into unmarked vans.”
“My Undesirable Friends” stands as a powerful record of the human spirit under authoritarian rule. The film will show at Film Forum in New York City from August 15th with a UK date to be announced.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/aug/15/russian-journalists-documentary