EXCLUSIVE: How the FIRST movie made in SPACE was filmed

Klim Shipenko has already filmed space on Earth – in the thriller ‘Salyut-7’ (2017) based on a true story how Soviet cosmonauts saved the orbital station of the same name in 1985. And, after a while, he himself really went into orbit! Together with actress Yulia Peresild, he spent two weeks on the International Space Station, where they filmed key scenes from the movie ‘Vyzov’ (‘The Challenge’), which became the world’s first feature film shot partially in space. According to the story, a simple female surgeon without special training is forced to go to the ISS in order to save the life of one of the cosmonauts. 

– We can say that the plot of the movie practically repeats your story with Yulia – two people of earthly professions suddenly fly to the ISS. 

And that’s how the movie was meant to be. It was literally born out of circumstance. If the script was first written on ‘Salyut-7’ and then we would think about how to shoot it, then, here, the possibility of flying first appeared and then the story was invented. We proceeded from objective possibilities, what could be filmed on the ISS, what could be filmed during pre-flight preparation, etc. The environment itself largely suggested the plot moves, the atmosphere. We did such a cinéma vérité (truthful cinema), we showed space for real, without special effects. In space movies shot in a studio, we usually embellish – we try to make it beautiful. But ‘The Challenge’ shows how things really are. 

– Were you not afraid that Yulia Peresild’s hair floating in weightlessness would somehow damage the tone of the film? It’s comical, but the film is a drama. 

We didn’t really think about it. Of course, we knew about this effect and, at some point during the preparation, I thought: “So, what does this give us?” Yes, it does nothing, if you figure it out, except for the effect itself. And the effect is good – you can immediately see that we have everything for real. It cannot be done on earth. That’s why, in ‘Gravity’ (2013), Sandra Bullock has short hair. And Anne Hathaway has short hair in ‘Interstellar’ (2014). There is no other reason than the production one – it is almost impossible to show long hair in zero gravity. And we got this effect for nothing. 

– Is it at all possible to simulate such freedom of movement in weightlessness, as in ‘The Challenge’, on Earth without flying into space? There are fewer of these scenes in ‘Gravity’, but it was filmed ten years ago – for sure the special effects have seriously advanced since then. 

‘Gravity’ is my favorite movie. I think it’s brilliant. But, for me, its uniqueness is not even in how it was filmed, but in how it was invented. In the technical implementation, I see the same limitations that I myself encountered on ‘Salyut-7’. Yes, Alfonso Cuarón had a bigger budget, they took longer to shoot, they drew the station very well. But, when Sandra flies inside the station, of course, it is noticeable that she is suspended on cables. Notice that she never turns around 360 degrees – simply because a cable is attached to her back and it is impossible [for her] to rotate. 

On ‘Salyut-7’, we tried to do something that was not used in ‘Gravity’. For example, we turned the scenery of the station vertically and lowered the actors – Volodya Vdovichenkov and Pasha Derevyanko – down on cables, so that the effect appeared as if they had flown through the hatches. In ‘Gravity’, in scenes like this, you can see that this is digitally created – and that Sandra was filmed in a horizontal position. You see, she always floats, as it were, with her stomach down. We even have shots of somersaults in zero gravity – we were able to do this because the cables were attached differently. But, there were still a lot of limitations that we could not overcome. 

The only way to achieve such freedom of movement in zero gravity on Earth, as Yulia has in ‘The Challenge’, is if we completely digitally created Yulia. As in the same ‘Gravity’ in scenes in outer space. There, the only “real” thing was the face of Sandra Bullock, which was filmed in the pavilion, illuminated from all sides. Everything else is graphics. However, to digitally create everything is extremely difficult, extremely expensive. You could probably create as much weightlessness as we did in the movie on Earth, but it certainly would not cost less. I have yet to see such a movie. 

There aren’t so many realistic movies with weightlessness, in general – we won’t even name ten between us! Do you think other directors don’t want to shoot in space? They do, just everyone is aware of the limitations.

– On the ISS, the camera also lost weight. Did it help or did it make things more difficult? 

It helped and made it difficult at the same time. I wanted the camera to also float in zero gravity – so that the viewer would have the feeling that they themselves were flying. However, if you start moving the camera, the question of focus immediately arises – I also twist it. And it was very difficult to synchronize the movement (in one hand – the camera, in the other – the focus). This skill, unfortunately, cannot be trained on Earth. I had to learn it on the ISS and, at first, I had to get used to it, but, gradually, I got better and better. 

– From the very beginning, did you want to actively use the “natural” light from the windows?

We knew that the ISS circles the planet 16 times a day and, therefore, sunset and dawn can be seen from it 16 times. But, it was completely incomprehensible how the light from the windows would “behave”. There is simply no simulator on Earth that would show us what it would look like. I had to get used to it on the spot. I wanted to make a big, in the literal sense, art film and, accordingly, the light had to be “artistic” and had to work for the story. Therefore, I tried to select the light: in this scene, the sunset is organic, in this – dawn, in this – darkness, in this – the sun. You get used to the fact that everything changes every half an hour, so you guess what and when to shoot. 

– In addition to Yulia, real cosmonauts also play in the movie – Anton Shkaplerov, Oleg Novitsky, Pyotr Dubrov. Did they easily fit into their roles? Or was working with non-professional actors another challenge? 

The cosmonauts played themselves in the proposed circumstances, but it is still difficult. It took time for them to relax, to find an organic way of being in the frame. Cosmonauts are not taught this. They are taught to make a TV report: it means to hang in front of the camera and say the text that appears on the prompter. But acting in a movie is a completely different story. I have shot non-professional actors before and I know how to work, what to say. We rehearsed a lot on Earth, rehearsed on the ISS. In general, I think everything worked out. 

To be honest, everything about this project was a challenge. There was nothing that was easy for us. Yes, for example, I already shot the Mission Control Center for ‘Salyut-7’, it was familiar, but I specifically tried to do it differently so as not to repeat myself. 

– In press releases they write that 78 hours and 21 minutes of footage was filmed on the ISS. What’s included besides double takes? 

Actually, I think, actual footage on the ISS, I shot less – about 30 hours of material. There were double takes, shots of the ISS, shots of the Earth… I shot everything – any details, any nuances. And I shot everything that I could, everything that I had enough time for. Everything that space offered us. Yulia and I gave 150-180 percent – even more than expected. There was no moment after returning when I said: “Damn, sorry, I missed this.” 

– Was it tempting to shoot scenes in outer space? 

We wanted to. But we were told: “Everything is possible, but then we need another six months of preparation.” And, to be honest, such a spacewalk would be just for show. There was nothing spectacular to shoot there. POV shots (from the point of view) of the astronauts have already been filmed – they are on any broadcast during a spacewalk. And shooting an actor in outer space is incredibly difficult and it’s difficult to predict the artistic result. Therefore, we decided to skip it and not postpone the flight. 

– How do you think the ‘The Challenge’ will affect your career with Yulia? And the movie industry, in general? 

– With regards to our careers – I don’t even know. But, in general, I hope that our movie will help popularize space. This was one of the goals from the very beginning – to make it so that a wide audience could see that space flight is a reality. We wanted even more people to want to connect their lives with astronautics. And, it seems to me that, to a certain extent, this goal has already been achieved. Personally, many friends have already written to me saying things like: “My son watched ‘The Challenge’ and now wants to become a cosmonaut!”

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