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My Undesirable Friends: Part II - Exile

Play trailer Poster for My Undesirable Friends: Part II - Exile 5h 55m Play Trailer Watchlist
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A group of young journalists flee Moscow when Russia invades Ukraine and shuts down all independent media, turning telling the truth into a crime. Just days before, they were working as part of a vibrant opposition community. Now they're part of a historic exodus. They leave with a few hours' notice, carry-on suitcases, and no idea what country they can go to next that will let them stay and keep working. They must quickly get back on their feet to report on the biggest story of their lives, a war they all fiercely oppose. Intimate and immersive, the film sweeps across four years and a dozen countries. The complex, razor sharp and often very funny women -- and a few men -- gather in apartments that feel like waystations and borrowed offices before being uprooted yet again. They work to bring Russians an alternative to propaganda, speaking out against their country's war crimes and wrestling with personal moral accountability, even as Russia menaces them with criminal prosecution back home and physical threats abroad. Relying on dark humor to get through dark times, they keep working for the uncertain future of a country they may not return to for decades. As the years pass in exile, they have to redefine what work, family, friendship, love and home mean when you can't go home.

Cast & Crew

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Julia Loktev

Director

Anna Nemzer

Director

Julia Loktev

Producer

Julia Loktev

Cinematographer

Julia Loktev

Film Editor

Michael Taylor

Film Editor

Critics Reviews

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Tim Grierson Screen International 12h
Funny, resilient and vibrant, Loktev’s subjects have lost their home but not their defiant spirit. Go to Full Review Jordan Mintzer The Hollywood Reporter 12h
That Kafkaesque sense of never being fully safe, of never being at peace with oneself, hovers over much of My Undesirable Friends: Part II - Exile, though it also never stops these women from getting the truth out. Go to Full Review Brian Tallerico RogerEbert.com 14h
3.5/4
[It] becomes less a story of running away from something and more a story of refusing to let evil win. If only more journalists in this world were willing to be so brave. Go to Full Review Josh Parham Next Best Picture 16h
7/10
The film is an engrossing portrait of brave journalists that persevere in the face of danger and opposition. An intimate space is captured, creating a naturalistic environment to document these harrowing moments. Go to Full Review Read all reviews
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My Undesirable Friends: Part II - Exile

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Movie Info

Synopsis A group of young journalists flee Moscow when Russia invades Ukraine and shuts down all independent media, turning telling the truth into a crime. Just days before, they were working as part of a vibrant opposition community. Now they're part of a historic exodus. They leave with a few hours' notice, carry-on suitcases, and no idea what country they can go to next that will let them stay and keep working. They must quickly get back on their feet to report on the biggest story of their lives, a war they all fiercely oppose. Intimate and immersive, the film sweeps across four years and a dozen countries. The complex, razor sharp and often very funny women -- and a few men -- gather in apartments that feel like waystations and borrowed offices before being uprooted yet again. They work to bring Russians an alternative to propaganda, speaking out against their country's war crimes and wrestling with personal moral accountability, even as Russia menaces them with criminal prosecution back home and physical threats abroad. Relying on dark humor to get through dark times, they keep working for the uncertain future of a country they may not return to for decades. As the years pass in exile, they have to redefine what work, family, friendship, love and home mean when you can't go home.
Director
Julia Loktev, Anna Nemzer
Producer
Julia Loktev
Distributor
MUBI
Original Language
Russian
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 9, 2026, Limited
Runtime
5h 55m
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