Russia’s “The Challenge” Beats Hollywood to Space: World’s First Feature Film Shot in Orbit
Beating a rival Hollywood project was celebrated in Moscow with the premiere of the first feature film shot in space in Russian cinemas.
"The Challenge", the film is about a surgeon dispatched to the International Space Station (ISS) to save an injured cosmonaut.
A Hollywood project announced in 2020 by Tom Cruise in collaboration with NASA & Elon Musk’s SpaceX was beaten by the Russian crew.
Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, has praised the film, saying, "We are the first to have shot a feature film in orbit, aboard a spacecraft. Once again, the first."
Yulia Pereslid, one of Russia’s most glamorous actresses, plays the surgeon in the film.
Klim Shipenko, director of the film, was in charge of camera, lighting, & sound.
30 hours of footage were brought back by Shipenko, 50 minutes of which were used in the final act.
Before going to space on a Soyuz spacecraft accompanied by a cosmonaut, Pereslid & Shipenko underwent training for 4 months.
The Russian module of the ISS was the venue for shooting the sequences, featuring cameo appearances by three Russian cosmonauts stationed there at the time.
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