Tanya Mosley

The film has arrived in the United States at a moment when questions about press freedom and the risks of reporting in politically charged spaces feel newly present here, too.

Just last week, journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were arrested by federal agents after covering a protest at a church in St.

Paul, Minnesota, a case that has drawn sharp criticism from press freedom advocates.

Julia Lochte was born in Russia and immigrated to the United States at age nine.

Her filmmaking, across documentary and fiction, focuses on people living through history as it unfolds, often capturing private moments inside systems of power that are closing in.

Her previous films include Moment of Impact, Day Night, Day Night, and The Loneliest Planet.

Julia Lochte, welcome to Fresh Air, and thank you for this film.

It is sobering, but...

A Necessary Watch.

Well, you know, we're talking to each other just days after two American journalists were arrested by federal agents for covering a protest in Minnesota.

And the first thing I thought about was you and this documentary and how unnervingly timely it is that we are speaking right now.

What was your reaction when you first heard the news?

Take me back to 2021.

You are home here in the United States.

But you're watching something unfold in Russia.

Independent journalists are being labeled foreign agents by the government.

And at that point, there were, I think it was around 25 people on the list.

What made you think at the time, I need to get on a plane, there is possibly a film here?

And it was more than just I'm a foreign agent.

It's like a paragraph in big, bold letters, depending on what the platform that you're on.