Meryl Streep Signs On as Executive Producer of Russian Documentary Sequel
Meryl Streep is an executive producer on My Undesirable Friends: Part II – Exile, according to Deadline, which reported the credit on 4 November 2026.
The film follows Russian women journalists who flee tyranny and go into exile. It is directed by Julia Loktev, with Anna Nemzer as co-director. Laura Poitras is also an executive producer. Loktev produced the film, shot it, and edited it with Michael Taylor. The music is by Sami Buccella.
The sequel follows My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow, which was shortlisted for an Oscar and runs 5 hours 24 minutes. Streep came to it through an unlikely route. Colin Firth recommended the first part to her, and she later told Deadline she watched it for five and a half hours straight and was entranced by the story. IndieWire reported that she almost did not watch the six-hour film at all before becoming involved.
Part II had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September. It opened at Film Forum in New York City on 9 October, and Streep introduced one of the screenings there. The new film runs 355 minutes, with one 30-minute intermission, according to the Burns Film Center listing. The next booked run is at the Siskel Film Center in Chicago, which opens the film on 5 December.
The first part has a strong awards record. It won best documentary at the 2025 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, after earlier wins from the Gotham Awards and the New York Film Critics Circle. Variety reported that the film was self-distributed, which means its makers handled its release themselves rather than through a major studio.
For anyone who has not followed documentaries closely, the story here is one of small chains of decisions. A film is shot, then a veteran actor watches it on a recommendation, then she puts her name to the credits. Each step can change how many people see the work. The next date to watch is 5 December in Chicago, when the sequel reaches its second booked run.
