'My Undesirable Friends' chronicles independent journalists in Moscow

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published August 15, 2025 at 12:05 PM EDT

A still from "My Undesirable Friends." (Courtesy of Julia Loktev)

In the multi-part documentary “My Undesirable Friends,” filmmaker Julia Loktev follows a group of independent journalists in Moscow who’ve been labeled “foreign agents” by the Putin regime. They try to keep reporting in the face of mounting pressure and a crackdown on what independent media is still operating in Russia in the lead-up to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Here & Now’s Scott Tong speaks with Julia Loktev about her film.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.