The first fiction feature film shot in orbit opened in Russian theaters on Thursday, sparking pride in Moscow for anticipating a rival project from the United States. in full diplomatic crisis due to the conflict in Ukraine.
Shoot “The Challenge”, that matters the story of a surgeon sent to the International Space Station (ISS) to operate on a wounded cosmonaut, Russia sent an actress and a director into orbit in October 2021 for 12 days.
The project, quickly implemented for anticipate a US initiative led by Tom Cruiseit has become a source of pride for Moscow, in a context of space rivalry with Washington that recalls the times of the Cold War.
“We are the first to shoot a feature-length fiction film aboard an orbiting spacecraft, again the first,” congratulated the Russian president on April 12. Vladimir Putinwho likes to remember that Moscow sent the first man into space in 1961.
In Moscow, several people walk in front of the space capsule Soyuz MS-18which brought the film crew to Earth and is now on display in the famous Gorky Park.
“We are proud of our Russian actors,” says marketing specialist Polina Andreyeva.
“It is very interesting to see how our city is progressing, which was the first to shoot a film in space,” adds company employee Tatiana Kulikova.
“We are Russia, Russia is always ahead,” he insists.
If this feature has garnered so much praise, it’s also because Russia has been mired in a deep diplomatic crisis with the West since the launch of the Moscow offensive against Ukraine in February 2022.
The United States and European countries have imposed a series of diplomatic and economic sanctions on Russia.
The space sector seems to be, for the moment, one of the last fields of cooperation between Russians and Westerners, even if the rivalry is fierce, especially since the rise of private companies, such as Elon Musk’s American SpaceX.
“The Challenge” is co-produced by the Russian space agency Roscosmos and the Pervy Kanal television network.
“We are all fans of ‘Gravity,'” a Hollywood space film released in 2013, Konstantin Ernst, head of Pervy Kanal, said on Monday.
“But our ‘Defiance,’ shot in zero gravity, shows that it was all about special effects” in American film, he said.
The sequences recorded in the 230 m3 of the Russian module of the ISS and the participation of three professional Russian cosmonauts in the station give an effect of authenticity to the film, viewed by AFP.
Director Klim Chipenko, 39, who was in charge of camera, lights and sound, logged 30 hours of footage50 minutes of which were spent on final assembly.
The camera follows actress Yulia Peresild, 38 and one of Russia’s most glamorous performers, as she moves around that small space.
Both director and performer underwent four months of accelerated training before being sent into space.
AFP extension
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.