The film ‘Výzov’ (‘Challenge’, in Russian) will be screened in 20 countries around the world.
Coinciding with the 62nd anniversary of the pioneering flight of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, Russia launched this Wednesday ‘Výzov’ (‘Challenge’, in Russian), the first film shot in weightlessness, aboard the International Space Station (ISS), directed by filmmaker Klim Shipenko.
The premiere took place on Cosmonautics Day, which is celebrated every April 12, at the Oktiabr (October) cinema, the largest in Moscow, which was converted for the occasion into a model of the ISS. The walls were replaced by the holographic coating with the windows of the space station. At the entrance to the compound, the Soyuz MS-18 descent vehicle was placed, in which the director Shipenko and the actress Yulia Peresild returned to Earth in October 2021. after spending 12 days in orbit.
For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out in a solemn act on the occasion of the holiday that the ‘Výzov’ film crew made “a true civic and human gesture“. “He carried out a remarkable scientific and educational project. We were the first to shoot a feature film in orbit, aboard a spaceship. In this case too we were the first“said the head of state.
Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova, who also attended the premiere, noted that the film will be shown in 20 countries. “The film was a real challenge for everyone involved in its creation. Yulia Peresild and Klim Shipenko trained for three and a half months and spent 12 days in space on the ISS. The whole world followed this legendary event“, the minister wrote on her Telegram account.
For his part, Peresild stressed in statements to the TASS agency that his experience in orbit should show people that there is nothing unattainable. “It seems to me that the highest bar, both for an actress and for any person, is to sow what is reasonable, kind and eternal. This is a goal that you will never achieve in your life, but you should definitely move towards it,” he remarked.
What is the film about?
The plot is based on the fact that the crew member of the ISS, Oleg Ivanov, played by the Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, faints in space and needs urgent medical attention. The team of doctors on Earth chooses to carry out a surgical intervention in the heart on the ISS.
To carry out the feat, it is decided to send the heart surgeon Zhenia Belyaeva, played by Peresild. The woman you have only one month to prepare for flight and operate in weightless conditions. For Zhenia, everything is aggravated by concerns at work and the pressure to save the cosmonaut clashes with the lack of time to spend with her teenage daughter.
Preparation for the trip to space
Before their flight, Peresild and Shipenko underwent training courses in the company of cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, which included training in space suits, as well as studying the components and operation of the ISS. In addition, the actress and the filmmaker were subjected to tests in a centrifuge and in a pressure chamber, as well as emergency action drills.
Shipenko, Peresild and Shkaplerov arrived at the ISS on October 5 aboard the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft, which took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and flew for 3 hours and 31 minutes to reach the space platform. The total timing of material recorded in orbit exceeds 78 hours. After returning to Earth, they proceeded to record terrestrial scenes for a few god months.
Source: RT
