My Undesirable Friends: Part II – Exile Debuts First Trailer
First footage is out for My Undesirable Friends: Part II – Exile.
Deadline published an exclusive first-look trailer on 14 September for the documentary directed by Julia Loktev, with journalist Anna Nemzer credited as co-director. Meryl Streep and Laura Poitras are executive producers.
The film is the follow-up to My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow. It centres on independent Russian journalists, including Nemzer, Irina Dolinina and Ksenia Mironova. They were forced to flee Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, according to The Hollywood Reporter, facing the risk of arrest.
Part II picks up immediately after they leave the country. It tracks their exodus as a journey across borders, described by Variety as globetrotting, as Loktev filmed them settling into new lives in exile.
The festival path is already in motion. The film held its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and was also named in the Telluride Film Festival line-up. Its next festival screening will be at the New York Film Festival, Deadline reported.
A cinema date is set in New York. Film Forum lists the film as opening on Friday, October 9, according to its listing.
The release plan splits between cinemas and streaming. Loktev is self-distributing the film theatrically, meaning she is handling the cinema release herself rather than licensing it to a major studio distributor. Streaming rights to Parts I and II have been acquired by MUBI, the curated streaming service and distributor.
Loktev also produced the film and shot it herself. Editing is by Loktev and Michael Taylor, with music by Sami Buccella.
Part I arrived first. It held its world premiere at the New York Film Festival in October 2024. It was later shortlisted for the Academy Awards, the stage before final nominations are decided, and won Best Documentary honours from the Gotham Awards, the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Society of Film Critics.
For viewers catching up, the two parts form one continuing story. The first covers the final stretch of independent journalism in Moscow. The second starts at departure.
