Extremist Now Streaming: Alexander Molochnikov’s Award-Winning Anti-War Drama Lands W/ The New Yorker

The New Yorker has added Extremist, the award-winning short film from writer–director Alexander Molochnikov, to its curated slate of prestige releases. The film is now streaming both on the magazine’s website and on its YouTube channel, accompanied by a newly published interview with Molochnikov.

Inspired by the real case of Sasha Skochilenko—a St. Petersburg artist imprisoned for seven years after swapping four grocery-store price tags with anti-war messages—Extremist approaches her story from a more internal, imaginative angle. Instead of recreating events literally, Molochnikov explores the emotional and psychological weight of a seemingly tiny act of dissent at a time when public expression can trigger severe state retaliation. The film uses this small gesture as an entry point into broader questions about conscience, repression, and the cost of refusing to stay silent.

Since premiering at the 2025 Telluride Film Festival, Extremist has quickly become a standout on the festival circuit. It earned two BAFTA Student Film Awards—including Best Live Action Film—won the Oscar-qualifying Jury Prize at the New Hampshire Film Festival, and received support from both the National Board of Review’s Student Grant program and The Gotham’s Focus Features Short Film Showcase.

Molochnikov’s own story adds another layer to the film’s urgency. He was forced to leave Russia in 2022 after criticizing the war in Ukraine, losing his position at the Bolshoi Theatre and eventually relocating to the United States. That experience of exile informs the film’s perspective, which blends political critique with an artist’s subjective, sometimes disorienting encounter with fear and resistance.

The project brings together an impressive team. Cinematographer Mikhail Krichman—known for his work on Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan and Loveless—gives the short a sharp, atmospheric visual language. The cast includes Viktoria Moroshnichenko, Tinatin Dalakishvili, veteran performer Lilian Malkina, and Arthur Smolyaninov. Producers Jean Chapiro and FormaProFilm shepherd the film, while a remarkable group of executive producers helps amplify its reach: Ben Stiller, John Lesher, Ramin Bahrani, Odessa Rae, Rick Schwartz, and Sheryl Crown.

The New Yorker’s Paul Moakley calls the short a timely warning about the global rise of authoritarianism. Molochnikov echoes this sentiment, describing Skochilenko as a model of moral courage and reminding viewers that the dynamics depicted in the film are not exclusive to Russia. He suggests that societies often drift toward repression quietly, and that ordinary people frequently face a subtle but consequential decision: abandon their principles or hold their ground.

Stiller and Lesher praise the film as an urgent look at the conflict between free expression and an increasingly punitive political system. Their hope, shared by the film’s team, is that bringing Extremist to a wider audience will spark conversations about artistic freedom, civic responsibility, and the fragility of rights that can seem permanent—until they’re not.

Now available to stream below