Meryl Streep Produced Documentary My Undesirable Friends
The 12-hour project details the exile of the Russian journalism collective TV Rain.
Updated on Oct. 9, 2026 in Documentary
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In 2026, the two-part documentary My Undesirable Friends was released with Meryl Streep and Laura Poitras serving as executive producers. The film chronicles the dispersal of the TV Rain journalism collective across Europe following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Why it matters
The documentary highlights the challenges faced by journalists labeled as extremists by the Russian government. Streep joined the project to help promote the film during the awards season after a recommendation from Colin Firth.
The documentary spans nearly 12 hours of total footage across two parts. Meryl Streep reported watching 5.5 hours in a single sitting despite initially intending to view only 15 minutes.
The players
Meryl Streep
She is an acclaimed American actress who served as an executive producer on the project.
Julia Loktev
She is the director of the film who captured all footage using an iPhone.
Laura Poitras
She is an Academy Award-winning filmmaker who joined the project as an executive producer.
Colin Firth
He is an Oscar-winning British actor who recommended the film to Meryl Streep.
TV Rain
This is a Russian independent journalism collective that currently operates out of Amsterdam.
The details
Director Julia Loktev filmed the entirety of the project using only an iPhone, acting as a one-woman crew. The film follows TV Rain as the organization relocated its operations to Amsterdam after its staff faced legal threats and labels of terrorism from the Russian government.
Timeline
Julia Loktev began filming in Moscow during the fall of 2021.
Vladimir Putin initiated the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Part I - Last Air in Moscow was released in 2025.
Part II - Exile was released in 2026.
Industry Dynamics
The project follows the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and documents the resulting dispersal of independent media figures across Europe. It reflects a trend of high-profile actors using their platform to champion politically sensitive, long-form documentary journalism.
Viewers interested in the film can expect an extensive, 12-hour commitment if they watch both parts in their entirety. The documentary offers a rare look at the logistics of independent journalism under intense political pressure.
The takeaway
The documentary serves as an intimate record of how modern technology allowed a single filmmaker to document a complex geopolitical migration. It underscores the ongoing struggle of independent journalists to maintain operations while in exile.
Further reading
Explore more award-winning films in the Documentary section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by IndieWire.
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