{"id":1881510,"date":"2026-04-14T10:39:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T07:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1881510"},"modified":"2026-04-14T10:39:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T07:39:00","slug":"this-iphone-shot-doc-exposes-the-ugliness-of-authoritarianism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1881510","title":{"rendered":"This iPhone-shot doc exposes the ugliness of authoritarianism"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1200\/0-117-3000-2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443362.JPG&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article class=\"main-article standard \">\n<div class=\"article-main-content article-wrapper has-media-but-its-an-image\" data-status=\"loaded\" data-primary-article=\"true\" data-url=\"\/film-tv\/article\/70085\/1\/my-undesirable-friends-julia-loktev-documentary-interview\" data-article-id=\"70085\">\n<header class=\"article-header has-landscape-image no-media\">\n<div class=\"wrapper dg-max-width\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<figure class=\"main-img no-figcaption\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.42\" data-template=\"Standard Article\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"My Undesirable Friends Part I_ALT still_archival_E\" class=\"img\" height=\"2118\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1400\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443362.JPG\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"meta\">\n<div class=\"inner\"><time datetime=\"2026-04-14T10:39:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"14 April 2026\"><span class=\"month\">April<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"14\">14,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"titles\">\n<div class=\"tags\">\n<div class=\"sections\"><a class=\"category vertical - film-tv\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\">Film &amp; TV<\/a><br \/>\n\/<br \/>\n<a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/feature\">Feature<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"standard-tag-container\"><a class=\"standard-category\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\">Film &amp; TV<\/a> \/<br \/>\n<a class=\"standard-series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/feature\">Feature<\/a><\/div>\n<h1 class=\"title\"><span>This iPhone-shot doc exposes the ugliness <span class=\"nowrap\">of authoritarianism<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n<div class=\"standfirst\">\n<h2>The first chapter of Julia Loktev\u2019s documentary, My Undesirable Friends, follows a group of young, female journalists committed to telling the truth about Putin\u2019s Russia \u2013 and risking their lives in <span class=\"nowrap\">the process<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-04-14T10:39:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"14 April 2026\"><span class=\"month\">April<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"14\">14,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-04-14T10:39:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"14 April 2026\"><span class=\"month\">April<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"14\">14,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/p>\n<div class=\"providers\">\n<div class=\"contributors\"><span class=\"contributor\" data-contributor-role=\"Text\"><span class=\"contributor-role\">Text<\/span><a class=\"contributor-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/user\/NickChen\">Nick Chen<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article-body-container\">\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"dazed-gallery has-6-images \">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<header>\n<div class=\"info\"><span class=\"heading\">My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 <span class=\"nowrap\">Last Air<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"gallery-thumbs\">\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36938\/0\/my-undesirable-friends-part-i-last-air\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 Last Air \" class=\"img\" height=\"1688\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-2532-1688\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443356.jpg\" width=\"2532\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36938\/1\/my-undesirable-friends-part-i-last-air\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 Last Air \" class=\"img\" height=\"1688\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-2532-1688\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443357.jpg\" width=\"2532\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36938\/2\/my-undesirable-friends-part-i-last-air\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 Last Air \" class=\"img\" height=\"1688\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-2532-1688\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443358.jpg\" width=\"2532\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36938\/3\/my-undesirable-friends-part-i-last-air\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 Last Air \" class=\"img\" height=\"1688\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-2532-1688\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443359.jpg\" width=\"2532\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36938\/4\/my-undesirable-friends-part-i-last-air\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 Last Air \" class=\"img\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-3000-2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443360.JPG\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36938\/5\/my-undesirable-friends-part-i-last-air\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 Last Air \" class=\"img\" height=\"1688\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-2532-1688\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443361.jpg\" width=\"2532\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-footer\">Gallery \/ 6 images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p>Julia Loktev doesn\u2019t mind if you compare her epic, award-winning new film to reality TV. In fact, she loves it. \u201cI\u2019ve heard everything from reality TV and <em>War and Peace<\/em>, to a disaster film, a thriller, and a hang-out comedy,\u201d Loktev tells me with glee. \u201cI\u2019m good with all those comparisons.\u201d She does, however, point out a key difference. \u201cReality shows are shot with many, many cameras. But this is a single camera. It\u2019s just me!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In October 2021, Loktev wasn\u2019t planning to shoot an entire film on her iPhone. Arriving in Moscow without a cinematographer, the 56-year-old American director wanted to make a documentary about Russian journalists and their everyday life under Putin. Using a working title of <em>The Lives of Foreign Agents<\/em>, Loktev, smartphone in hand, started capturing footage of young, female reporters like Anna Nemzer, a host at TV Rain, Russia\u2019s last remaining independent news channel. At that point, pro-Navalny journalists like Nemzer had been deemed \u201cforeign agents\u201d by the government, and had to precede their news coverage with comically long disclaimers. Already, Loktev knew she had more than enough for a film.<\/p>\n<p>However, Loktev, a Russian-speaker who grew up in the Soviet Union until the age of 9, was unaware that she\u2019d flown to Moscow four months before Putin declared war on Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Loktev\u2019s film thus evolves into something else entirely: a 5.5-hour documentary called <em>My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 Last Air in Moscow<\/em>. Split into five chapters, the film\u2019s first three sections follow journalists like Nemzer, Irina Dolinina, Alesya Marokhovskaya, Sonya Groysman, Olga Churakova, Ksenia Mironova, and Elena Kostyuchenko in the months leading up to the war; the fourth and fifth chapters, set in February and March of 2022, follow reporters as they risk their lives in Moscow simply by telling the truth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"GMIEVj_PKX8\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GMIEVj_PKX8\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p>For the past year, <em>My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 Last Air in Moscow<\/em> has been playing the film festival circuit with an interval at the three-hour mark. Today, I\u2019m speaking to Loktev in mid-April, a week after the film was released on streaming. \u201cThere isn\u2019t much difference between film critics and another kind of audience,\u201d she tells me over Zoom from New York. \u201cYes, it\u2019s a film about authoritarianism, and the long, deep, dark Russian history that explodes with the invasion of Ukraine. But, at the same time, it\u2019s a film about people\u2019s lives falling apart \u2013 and they\u2019re hanging out. People respond to it on an emotional level.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before <em>My Undesirable Friends<\/em>, Loktev was known primarily for two carefully composed fiction features, <em>Day Night Day Night <\/em>and <em>The Loneliest Planet.<\/em> Even Loktev must admit that none of her previous films\u2019 thrills compare to the end of <em>My Undesirable Friends<\/em>,<em>\u00a0<\/em>when Loktev and the journalists flee TV Rain\u2019s studios upon learning that Special Forces are on their way. The exit is rushed and panicked, personal belongings are left behind and everyone scatters in different directions. Despite the danger, Loktev records it all while running along herself.<\/p>\n<p>Based in Brooklyn, Loktev notes that other countries could learn from her film\u2019s conclusion that living under an authoritarian government is akin to being a frog not realising it\u2019s being boiled alive. \u201cIf you look at Putin\u2019s regime, the frog was boiled slowly for 20 years,\u201d says the director. \u201cIn the early fall of \u201921, it sped up to medium, and in February \u201922, when Russia started a full-scale war in Ukraine, it got turned up to a high, boiling temperature.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>When we film, I almost don\u2019t talk. It\u2019s like therapy: the less the therapist says, the more you open up<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p>Most of the film\u2019s characters (which is how Loktev refers to them throughout the interview) are in their 20s and 30s. Amidst legal threats and surveillance, they joke about dressing up at home in case there\u2019s an unexpected raid. Mironova\u2019s fianc\u00e9 is locked up for alleged treason. Marokhovskaya and Dolinina hide their gay relationship from the latter\u2019s mother. \u201cI\u2019m amazed by the young people in the film,\u201d says Loktev. \u201cOne of them says she was in the first grade when Putin came to power. As long as she\u2019s known there was a thing called a \u2018president\u2019, it\u2019s been Putin. Even though they don\u2019t have evidence they can change society, they still feel like they can, and they\u2019ll do whatever they can, every day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Loktev flew to Moscow in 2021 after reading a <em>New York Times<\/em> article titled \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/08\/23\/business\/media\/russian-journalists-independent.html\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/08\/23\/business\/media\/russian-journalists-independent.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1776182889960000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1pLAUqbUSHiThsvqgfXm5-\">Russian Journalists Meet a Crackdown With Dark Humor, and Subscribers\u201d<\/a> about how Churakova and Groysman responded to the \u201cforeign agent\u201d label by launching a podcast called <em>Hi, You\u2019re a Foreign Agent<\/em>. The day before our interview, the <em>New York Times<\/em> ran another article, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/04\/08\/briefing\/8-the-good-list-show-notes-doable.html\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/04\/08\/briefing\/8-the-good-list-show-notes-doable.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1776182889960000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0RkmOccQXReG9uUwtCm22Y\">\u201c6 Things to Add Joy to Your Day\u201d<\/a>, which lists <em>My Undesirable Friends<\/em> alongside \u201cmoon music\u201d and the heart emoji. Loktev reveals it was shared in their \u201cDesirable Friends\u201d group chat. \u201cThey were laughing, like, \u2018How did they find us joyful? Our lives are falling apart!\u2019 I was like, \u2018People like hanging out with you guys!\u2019 They <em>are <\/em>joyful, even in the darkest moments. And they tell good jokes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Based on my conversation with Loktev, it\u2019s clear that she\u2019s a warm, friendly presence who remembers names (\u201cNick, you\u2019re the first person to ever ask me that\u201d) and encourages people to speak their mind. She\u2019s also, as she puts it, \u201ca short woman who\u2019s not threatening\u201d. Thus everyone in <em>My Undesirable Friends<\/em> is remarkably chatty and candid in front of Loktev. You learn about their fears, hopes, romantic lives, reasons for becoming journalists, and unfortunate obsession with Harry Potter. We get onto a separate tangent: yes, they\u2019re all heartbroken about JK Rowling\u2019s transphobia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"62faf2ca-2f6f-4d22-8476-b42c00adcd25\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443358.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.78\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 Last Air \" class=\"img\" height=\"1688\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443358.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"credit\">My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 <span class=\"nowrap\">Last Air<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p>Another factor is the iPhone. Whereas Loktev witnessed a well-known documentary cinematographer zooming in on subjects from far away, she was often 3ft from the journalists due to her phone\u2019s 58mm lens. \u201cIt\u2019s the distance you normally are when hanging with friends,\u201d she says. \u201cBut when we film, I almost don\u2019t talk. It\u2019s like therapy: the less the therapist says, the more you open up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In <em>Day Night Day Night<\/em>, Loktev went out with the main actor and cinematographer Beno\u00eet Debie to shoot amongst the crowds of Times Square. \u201cIt was a documentary, verit\u00e9 style of filming, even though it was fiction,\u201d she recalls. \u201cBut this, I filmed myself. I\u2019m directly responding with the camera. You have to listen and look over to where a joke is being told, or a dramatic moment is unfolding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When filming, does she stare at her phone, or does she try to be more present in the room? \u201cI try to be present. I don\u2019t want people to feel like I\u2019m an entomologist studying bugs. There\u2019s scenes in <em>Part II<\/em> where I try to be there for them emotionally, and so my camera work isn\u2019t as great.\u201d If she knows something won\u2019t make the film, she\u2019ll shoot reaction shots. \u201cBut I don\u2019t want the person to think I\u2019m not paying attention. So I keep looking at the person who\u2019s speaking, but I\u2019ll point the camera at someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Loktev reckons that this week she\u2019ll finish editing the final scene of <em>My Undesirable Friends: Part II \u2013 Exile<\/em>, which picks up two days after <em>Part I<\/em> in Istanbul. \u201cThey have no idea what country they\u2019re going to. They have no jobs. Their bank cards don\u2019t work. Their entire lives have collapsed. And then it follows them as they continue to report on this criminal war to Russians. They try to give Russians an alternative to propaganda. They face physical threats. They face arrest in Russia. At the same time, they crack inappropriate jokes at inappropriate moments. And that\u2019s why I love them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 Last Air in Moscow<em> is now streaming exclusively worldwide on MUBI.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. 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class=\"card-latest__title\">\u2018It\u2019s just the aesthetic\u2019: The Drama and the allure of violent subcultures<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/70066\/1\/what-went-down-25th-anniversary-screening-amelie-dazed-club\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Dazed Club x Curzon 25th anniversary Am&#233;lie screening \" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-347-2250-1496\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443165.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">What went down at our 25th anniversary screening of Am\u00e9lie<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"swiper-slide list-element\">\n<div class=\"scard-latest__section\">\n<div class=\"card-latest__wrapper\"><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/70035\/1\/daniel-blumberg-gianfranco-rosi-pompei-below-the-clouds\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"DanBlumberg\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-0-1551-1032\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/2\/1442910.png\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">How Daniel Blumberg turned water, wind and silence into a film score<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/70023\/1\/dazed-x-mubi-cinema-club-s-season-finale-father-mother-sister-brother\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"851815267-dazedxmubi_cc_fmsb_v2_clean\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-1-1080-718\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/2\/1442870.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Dazed x MUBI Cinema Club\u2019s season finale: Father Mother Sister Brother<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/70005\/1\/forbidden-fruits-film-meredith-alloway-interview-2026\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Forbidden-Fruits\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/77-0-866-576\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/2\/1442692.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">6LILITH6: Inside the witchy femme mall cult of Forbidden Fruits<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"swiper-slide list-element\">\n<div class=\"scard-latest__section\">\n<div class=\"card-latest__wrapper\"><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/70000\/1\/dj-ahmet-a-coming-of-ager-about-an-edm-obsessed-teen-sheep-farmer\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"DJ Ahmet\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/460-0-1863-1239\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/2\/1442668.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">DJ Ahmet, a coming-of-ager about an EDM-obsessed teen sheep farmer<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69957\/1\/introduction-takashi-miike-japan-cinema-cult-provocateur\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Fudoh_30\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/211-0-1467-976\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/2\/1442330.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Who is Takashi Miike? An intro to Japanese cinema\u2019s cult provocateur<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69958\/1\/the-good-boy-stephen-graham-jan-komasa-kit-rakusen-film-interview-2026\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Good Boy\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/419-152-1520-1011\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/2\/1442262.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">The Good Boy is a sick, twisted nightmare about delinquent teens<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline\" data-newsletter hidden>\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"dazed-gallery has-6-images \">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<header>\n<div class=\"info\"><span class=\"heading\">My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 <span class=\"nowrap\">Last Air<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"gallery-thumbs\">\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36938\/0\/my-undesirable-friends-part-i-last-air\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 Last Air \" class=\"img\" height=\"1688\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-2532-1688\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443356.jpg\" width=\"2532\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36938\/1\/my-undesirable-friends-part-i-last-air\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 Last Air \" class=\"img\" height=\"1688\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-2532-1688\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443357.jpg\" width=\"2532\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36938\/2\/my-undesirable-friends-part-i-last-air\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 Last Air \" class=\"img\" height=\"1688\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-2532-1688\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443358.jpg\" width=\"2532\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36938\/3\/my-undesirable-friends-part-i-last-air\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 Last Air \" class=\"img\" height=\"1688\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-2532-1688\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443359.jpg\" width=\"2532\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36938\/4\/my-undesirable-friends-part-i-last-air\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 Last Air \" class=\"img\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-3000-2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443360.JPG\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36938\/5\/my-undesirable-friends-part-i-last-air\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 Last Air \" class=\"img\" height=\"1688\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-2532-1688\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443361.jpg\" width=\"2532\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-footer\">Gallery \/ 6 images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p>Julia Loktev doesn\u2019t mind if you compare her epic, award-winning new film to reality TV. In fact, she loves it. \u201cI\u2019ve heard everything from reality TV and <em>War and Peace<\/em>, to a disaster film, a thriller, and a hang-out comedy,\u201d Loktev tells me with glee. \u201cI\u2019m good with all those comparisons.\u201d She does, however, point out a key difference. \u201cReality shows are shot with many, many cameras. But this is a single camera. It\u2019s just me!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In October 2021, Loktev wasn\u2019t planning to shoot an entire film on her iPhone. Arriving in Moscow without a cinematographer, the 56-year-old American director wanted to make a documentary about Russian journalists and their everyday life under Putin. Using a working title of <em>The Lives of Foreign Agents<\/em>, Loktev, smartphone in hand, started capturing footage of young, female reporters like Anna Nemzer, a host at TV Rain, Russia\u2019s last remaining independent news channel. At that point, pro-Navalny journalists like Nemzer had been deemed \u201cforeign agents\u201d by the government, and had to precede their news coverage with comically long disclaimers. Already, Loktev knew she had more than enough for a film.<\/p>\n<p>However, Loktev, a Russian-speaker who grew up in the Soviet Union until the age of 9, was unaware that she\u2019d flown to Moscow four months before Putin declared war on Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Loktev\u2019s film thus evolves into something else entirely: a 5.5-hour documentary called <em>My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 Last Air in Moscow<\/em>. Split into five chapters, the film\u2019s first three sections follow journalists like Nemzer, Irina Dolinina, Alesya Marokhovskaya, Sonya Groysman, Olga Churakova, Ksenia Mironova, and Elena Kostyuchenko in the months leading up to the war; the fourth and fifth chapters, set in February and March of 2022, follow reporters as they risk their lives in Moscow simply by telling the truth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"GMIEVj_PKX8\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GMIEVj_PKX8\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p>For the past year, <em>My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 Last Air in Moscow<\/em> has been playing the film festival circuit with an interval at the three-hour mark. Today, I\u2019m speaking to Loktev in mid-April, a week after the film was released on streaming. \u201cThere isn\u2019t much difference between film critics and another kind of audience,\u201d she tells me over Zoom from New York. \u201cYes, it\u2019s a film about authoritarianism, and the long, deep, dark Russian history that explodes with the invasion of Ukraine. But, at the same time, it\u2019s a film about people\u2019s lives falling apart \u2013 and they\u2019re hanging out. People respond to it on an emotional level.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before <em>My Undesirable Friends<\/em>, Loktev was known primarily for two carefully composed fiction features, <em>Day Night Day Night <\/em>and <em>The Loneliest Planet.<\/em> Even Loktev must admit that none of her previous films\u2019 thrills compare to the end of <em>My Undesirable Friends<\/em>,<em>\u00a0<\/em>when Loktev and the journalists flee TV Rain\u2019s studios upon learning that Special Forces are on their way. The exit is rushed and panicked, personal belongings are left behind and everyone scatters in different directions. Despite the danger, Loktev records it all while running along herself.<\/p>\n<p>Based in Brooklyn, Loktev notes that other countries could learn from her film\u2019s conclusion that living under an authoritarian government is akin to being a frog not realising it\u2019s being boiled alive. \u201cIf you look at Putin\u2019s regime, the frog was boiled slowly for 20 years,\u201d says the director. \u201cIn the early fall of \u201921, it sped up to medium, and in February \u201922, when Russia started a full-scale war in Ukraine, it got turned up to a high, boiling temperature.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>When we film, I almost don\u2019t talk. It\u2019s like therapy: the less the therapist says, the more you open up<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p>Most of the film\u2019s characters (which is how Loktev refers to them throughout the interview) are in their 20s and 30s. Amidst legal threats and surveillance, they joke about dressing up at home in case there\u2019s an unexpected raid. Mironova\u2019s fianc\u00e9 is locked up for alleged treason. Marokhovskaya and Dolinina hide their gay relationship from the latter\u2019s mother. \u201cI\u2019m amazed by the young people in the film,\u201d says Loktev. \u201cOne of them says she was in the first grade when Putin came to power. As long as she\u2019s known there was a thing called a \u2018president\u2019, it\u2019s been Putin. Even though they don\u2019t have evidence they can change society, they still feel like they can, and they\u2019ll do whatever they can, every day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Loktev flew to Moscow in 2021 after reading a <em>New York Times<\/em> article titled \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/08\/23\/business\/media\/russian-journalists-independent.html\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/08\/23\/business\/media\/russian-journalists-independent.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1776182889960000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1pLAUqbUSHiThsvqgfXm5-\">Russian Journalists Meet a Crackdown With Dark Humor, and Subscribers\u201d<\/a> about how Churakova and Groysman responded to the \u201cforeign agent\u201d label by launching a podcast called <em>Hi, You\u2019re a Foreign Agent<\/em>. The day before our interview, the <em>New York Times<\/em> ran another article, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/04\/08\/briefing\/8-the-good-list-show-notes-doable.html\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/04\/08\/briefing\/8-the-good-list-show-notes-doable.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1776182889960000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0RkmOccQXReG9uUwtCm22Y\">\u201c6 Things to Add Joy to Your Day\u201d<\/a>, which lists <em>My Undesirable Friends<\/em> alongside \u201cmoon music\u201d and the heart emoji. Loktev reveals it was shared in their \u201cDesirable Friends\u201d group chat. \u201cThey were laughing, like, \u2018How did they find us joyful? Our lives are falling apart!\u2019 I was like, \u2018People like hanging out with you guys!\u2019 They <em>are <\/em>joyful, even in the darkest moments. And they tell good jokes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Based on my conversation with Loktev, it\u2019s clear that she\u2019s a warm, friendly presence who remembers names (\u201cNick, you\u2019re the first person to ever ask me that\u201d) and encourages people to speak their mind. She\u2019s also, as she puts it, \u201ca short woman who\u2019s not threatening\u201d. Thus everyone in <em>My Undesirable Friends<\/em> is remarkably chatty and candid in front of Loktev. You learn about their fears, hopes, romantic lives, reasons for becoming journalists, and unfortunate obsession with Harry Potter. We get onto a separate tangent: yes, they\u2019re all heartbroken about JK Rowling\u2019s transphobia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"62faf2ca-2f6f-4d22-8476-b42c00adcd25\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443358.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.78\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 Last Air \" class=\"img\" height=\"1688\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443358.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"credit\">My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 <span class=\"nowrap\">Last Air<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p>Another factor is the iPhone. Whereas Loktev witnessed a well-known documentary cinematographer zooming in on subjects from far away, she was often 3ft from the journalists due to her phone\u2019s 58mm lens. \u201cIt\u2019s the distance you normally are when hanging with friends,\u201d she says. \u201cBut when we film, I almost don\u2019t talk. It\u2019s like therapy: the less the therapist says, the more you open up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In <em>Day Night Day Night<\/em>, Loktev went out with the main actor and cinematographer Beno\u00eet Debie to shoot amongst the crowds of Times Square. \u201cIt was a documentary, verit\u00e9 style of filming, even though it was fiction,\u201d she recalls. \u201cBut this, I filmed myself. I\u2019m directly responding with the camera. You have to listen and look over to where a joke is being told, or a dramatic moment is unfolding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When filming, does she stare at her phone, or does she try to be more present in the room? \u201cI try to be present. I don\u2019t want people to feel like I\u2019m an entomologist studying bugs. There\u2019s scenes in <em>Part II<\/em> where I try to be there for them emotionally, and so my camera work isn\u2019t as great.\u201d If she knows something won\u2019t make the film, she\u2019ll shoot reaction shots. \u201cBut I don\u2019t want the person to think I\u2019m not paying attention. So I keep looking at the person who\u2019s speaking, but I\u2019ll point the camera at someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Loktev reckons that this week she\u2019ll finish editing the final scene of <em>My Undesirable Friends: Part II \u2013 Exile<\/em>, which picks up two days after <em>Part I<\/em> in Istanbul. \u201cThey have no idea what country they\u2019re going to. They have no jobs. Their bank cards don\u2019t work. Their entire lives have collapsed. And then it follows them as they continue to report on this criminal war to Russians. They try to give Russians an alternative to propaganda. They face physical threats. They face arrest in Russia. At the same time, they crack inappropriate jokes at inappropriate moments. And that\u2019s why I love them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My Undesirable Friends: Part I \u2013 Last Air in Moscow<em> is now streaming exclusively worldwide on MUBI.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/70085\/1\/my-undesirable-friends-julia-loktev-documentary-interview&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1200\/0-117-3000-2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443362.JPG&#8221;] April\u00a0 14,\u00a0 2026 Film &amp; TV \/ Feature Film &amp; TV \/ Feature This iPhone-shot doc exposes the ugliness of authoritarianism The first chapter of Julia Loktev\u2019s documentary, My Undesirable Friends, follows a group of young, female journalists committed to telling the truth about Putin\u2019s Russia \u2013 and risking their lives in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,76],"class_list":["post-1881510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-dazeddigital-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1881510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1881510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1881510\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1881510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1881510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1881510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}