Actress Chulpan Khamatova has been cast to lead Alexander Molochnikov's "The Extremists", a feature-length expansion of his Oscar-shortlisted short film "Extremist". The short followed a young Russian artist who secretly replaced supermarket food labels with pacifist messages, an act that led to her arrest and the threat of a decade-long prison sentence. Khamatova, once one of Russia's most prominent actors, left her homeland after speaking out against the invasion of Ukraine, giving the production particular resonance.

Filming is under way in Latvia through AR Content, producer Alexander Rodnyansky's banner, and Forma Pro Films. The feature builds the original short into a three-part story combining the existing footage with two newly shot storylines, all fictional but drawn from real accounts of contemporary Russian life. Cinematographers Manuel Alberto Claro and Benoît Delhomme join original short DOP Mikhail Krichman, while Rodnyansky produces alongside Julia Zaitseva, Svetlana Punte and Molochnikov's Yes or Yes Studio team. Rodnyansky, sentenced in absentia in Russia over anti-war statements, called Khamatova's involvement deeply personal.