-

So, my first question: where is better - there, above, or here, below?

 - It's completely different there.

A completely different atmosphere, conditions, and in general everything is completely different.

First of all, people fly there, but not here.

Here they just walk, gravity works.

So the sensations are completely different, and I already miss them.

I miss it already.

After all, such that you do not feel any weight, you can slightly push off - and fly until you stop yourself - here on Earth, you will not experience.

 -

Perhaps you liked it so much because it became something new for you, but if you were in space for six months, you would say: “Please!

I already want to feel the force of gravity! ”?

- I'm sure this is partly true. And if I spent six months there, I would miss Earth and would like to return as soon as possible. But the other astronauts I spoke with there usually strive to fly and be in space as much as possible. My situation is somewhat different. I had to get used to certain aspects of life there - and I never got used to it. For example, how to wash, eat, go to the toilet there. It's very uncomfortable there. A person can get used to almost anything, but these aspects are the most difficult to get used to. Otherwise, this is a state of flight and a view of the Earth that nothing here below can compare.

 -

For you, it was probably something amazing - after all, you did not spend your whole life in training, did not dream of becoming an astronaut (or did you dream?) - to suddenly get such an opportunity and become a kind of “ordinary person who flew to space"? It’s impossible to imagine!

 - Well, technically I'm an astronaut. But I don't feel at the same level of training and competence in space and the International Space Station as those who have been preparing for flight for ten years. By the way, I had such a dream. I dreamed about this as a child. In Russia in the eighties, when I was five or six or seven years old, children often dreamed of space. Astronauts in those years were great heroes, they were known by their names - it is a pity that it is not so now ... I dreamed about it, I had a huge book about space, that's such a thickness (shows -

RT

). I watched it, tried to read it myself and figure out something, asked others to read it to me. Then this dream disappeared from my life for many years. But I remember how I had it as a child.

Later, space came back to me with my film Salyut-7.

So this topic reappeared in my life and took a significant place there, because I was one of the authors of the script, I rewrote it.

Before doing that, there was a lot of research to be done.

You can't just start writing about something, you need a deeper understanding of the field and its history.

And I lived with space inside me.

And then I shot a film and constantly thought: "How is it there?"

- and tried to imitate these conditions on Earth.

So I had a lot of thoughts about space - and especially about flying into space.

-

By the way, I wanted to ask.

When you came home and announced to your wife, mother and children “Daddy is flying into space!”, How did they initially react to this?

- They know me well, and therefore, in a sense, they expected something like this.

Therefore, they did not react in the spirit of, “Wow!

How did it happen? "

No no no.

It was more like: "Well, I see."

-

Another crazy idea?

- No, no, not crazy.

They knew I was serious.

They know me well and know: if I say that something will happen, it usually happens.

-

We talked with your mom.

She said she was not surprised at all.

According to her, you have always been a person who strives to do something, strives to move forward.

- Yes.

-

What do you think, you have inherited this sense of adventure from her?

- Of course.

And from her too.

She said she would also like to go into space if she could.

- She loves adventure.

-

Do you think she would make a good space tourist?

- Yes, she likes to travel.

-

"I like to travel!"

And there was a moment on the ISS - maybe when you looked through the window - a moment that stuck in your memory, when you fully realized, excuse the pun, the cosmic scale of your venture?

- It happened at the very beginning, on the very first day ... On the first day when we arrived at the ISS, of course, we were very tired after the launch and docking, but at the same time we were completely stunned and shocked and overwhelmed with impressions.

I remember how Julia and I flew around the station.

Toma Pesce gave us a tour of the entire ISS.

-

And on the American segment?

- Including American.

At the end of the excursion, we visited the "Dome".

I remember that Julia and I just froze.

They stopped flying and looked (through the windows -

RT

), mesmerized by this spectacle.

I think this was the very moment when we first realized: “Lord!

We are in space. "

- "We are in endless darkness."

 - "We are finally here."

Of course, people have been preparing for this for years, but our preparation also took a lot of time.

And with each new day, the awareness of this fact became deeper and deeper.

By about the middle of our stay on the ISS, we had already got used to it, but that first moment gave us an incredible view of the world.

  • Actress Yulia Peresild, cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky and director Klim Shipenko at the International Space Station

  • RIA News

  • © Press Service of Roscosmos / RSC Energia

-

Probably, filming on Earth should now seem very boring to you.

But here you have lighting technicians, sound engineers - a whole team.

On the ISS, you had to cope with everything yourself.

Only you and Julia were there, and, of course, the cosmonauts and astronauts who helped you.

Was it harder?

Or, on the contrary, did you feel more satisfaction that you did everything yourself from start to finish?

- Of course.

Look: we are now recording this interview, (behind the scenes -

RT

) there are four people working.

-

Taking this opportunity, we would like to express our gratitude to them.

-Yes. Four people ... And we don't fly here and don't move anywhere. If we were in motion, then somewhere there we would put a light, prepare the space, check the sound, audibility. If we walked around the office, there would be even more people, and the process would become even more complicated. So yes, of course ... (That's what it requires. -

RT

) even a simple interview. And we had a filming there with live actors, with artistic lighting, as I wanted.

Just “turn on the light and let's go” - that's not it.

I achieved a cinematic atmosphere, made sure that my shadow did not fall on the actors ... I tried to make Julia look beautiful in the frame, she is a beautiful woman, and I wanted to emphasize this too ... It was not easy to work, I also worked on sound, shooting equipment, I made backup copies of the materials, sent them to Earth for checking with the editor, and so that the color artist could make sure that I correctly maintain all the technical points: that the picture is not too dark and not too bright, and that the focus is set as it should ...

- Great responsibility

for one person.

-

Here, the guys do not suffer with focus, but if we were on the move, they would also have to solve the focusing problems that I encountered when we were filming with a movie camera without autofocus. I flew and adjusted the focus ... And I do not want to show myself as a hero: I knew that it would be so. If in the future technical progress will make it possible to send ten people into space, then it will be easier to shoot films there.

I was preparing for this work, practicing.

In cinemas, you will see what I am capable of in space, working on my own - and, of course, with the help of Julia.

She helped me out a lot.

I made up myself - of course, I didn't do it.

And she was also in charge of the props.

We filmed a medical operation, the props were medical, and she was very good at it.

She was like a props master, took these responsibilities upon herself, helped with this ... The cosmonauts also helped, and they were actors ...

-

Just about this I wanted to ask ...

- The astronauts acted as actors.

When writing the script, it was taken into account that I would not be able to take any other actors there.

I knew there would be one actress plus astronauts who would essentially play themselves.

-

And how did they manage?

- We did it well.

They are accustomed to constantly being in front of cameras, speaking on television, congratulating, greeting someone on Earth ... In general, the presence of cameras is a common thing for them.

So when they were not in the frame, and I was flying there with my camera, one of them could hedge me so that I would not hit my head on a lamp or something else.

Yes, this is another problem: when I look through the viewfinder, I can only see it and I do not see where I have flown.

When you walk on (solid -

RT

) ground ...

-

There is an orientation in space.

- As if yes, but there you do not understand where the ceiling is, where the walls are, because there any surface can be a ceiling, a wall, or a floor.

-

Did filming in space also have advantages?

Did they give you as a director something that you can't do here?

- Of course.

Yes.

For this we flew there.

I've spent a lot of time simulating zero gravity and ISS conditions, so I know the limits of what can be done even with a huge budget.

Even if you have $ 200 million, there are boundaries.

But there, in space, what you have been trying to recreate for months just exists by itself.

All this is natural for them.

When you are directing a film about space on Earth, it is very difficult to twist your brain in four dimensions so as to build or imagine a scene with zero gravity.

If there is a scene where two people somehow communicate, on Earth they are basically standing in front of each other on the floor.

It is very strange if someone is standing on the wall or on the ceiling.

But there it is very natural.

I filmed there some scenes that I knew were on Earth and could not have imagined.

The brain just doesn't work.

Filming is technically difficult. It's hard to move, you need to get used to it. On Earth, you say: "You walk in the door and get up here." Usually there is no problem with this. And there the person goes through the door and is

there

. Oh, well, it happens ... One more take! This is space ...

The entertainment industry is expanding to encompass many other aspects of human life.

Mutual progress turns out.

So people will understand that space and the ISS can be closer to them, it will become easier for them to “reach out”, this topic will be more interesting for them.

Usually, when people think about space, they think, “Oh, this is something incredibly distant.

I have nothing to do with it even remotely. "

Maybe this film and our flight after four months of preparation will be able to change the views on space.

And people will say: “Well, maybe I can shoot a movie there.

Maybe I'll fly into space.

You don't have to go to this for ten years. "

-

Another aspect that was discussed is that now there is a cinematic space race.

After all, Tom Cruise was also going into space in the fall.

Is it pleasant to be there first?

- Of course!

-

Do you have a sense of satisfaction?

- I really love competitiveness, I played and play sports games.

And it's always nice to be the first.

-

Could this cause another series of (projects. -

RT

)?

- Hope!

It did not seem to me that I somehow closed the ISS as a subject for filming and that there was nothing else to do there.

No, no, no, I think this is just the beginning!

People will look at the materials I filmed there and think: "Ok, ok, now we understand

what

can be done there."

And, of course, I will talk with those filmmakers who will also be interested in filming on the ISS, share my experience with them: what is possible there, what is not.

It will be much easier for the second filmmaker.

-

You paved the way.

“I didn't know what to expect in many ways.

And now I can tell my colleagues how things are there from the point of view of cinematography, what to expect, what not to even try to do - there are many such things.

The cosmos itself gives you a perspective that you cannot even imagine on Earth.

Take the lighting ...

-

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield said to our question: "I think the most difficult thing they will have with the lighting."

“Not that it’s the hardest thing.”

I just had to sometimes wait for the light.

Every forty minutes it gets dark and then light again.

But these changes are just magical!

It's not just like a sunset.

And it's also hard to imagine.

The sun begins to play with rainbow colors.

We had a scene where Julia is sitting at the window and just talking to the Earth.

The sun begins to change, and these metamorphoses are so diverse that they create magical, cosmic illumination!

It is possible to imitate it here, but I couldn't just come up with such a thing!

-

The idea of ​​the film "Challenge" and how it was born - did you always know that you wanted to do something similar and took the opportunity, or did you adapt to this opportunity?

- Actually, when I was offered to direct a film in space, I knew that we would be limited by the fact that only two can fly there.

I didn't want to have too much CGI in the film, and I wanted to shoot everything for real.

So I came up with the story with those terms in mind, but it's an original idea and the producers loved it.

All three companies approved it immediately.

So I don't know how to answer.

Maybe, in a way, I adapted to the conditions, but in many ways I took advantage of the opportunity that presented itself.

-

How much time has passed from the moment you conceived this idea, to the launch of the rocket from Baikonur?

- A little over a year.

-

Clearly, a year ... So, you have been hatching this idea for a long time ...

- I think a year and a month.

-

Roscosmos also supported you ...

- They are among the producers of the film.

-

Exactly.

Can we say that they really helped and invested time and resources in the success of the film?

- Without their help and contribution, all this would be impossible.

So yes, of course.

They did everything they could to help me.

Of course, they could not do more than they could.

It should be borne in mind that the ISS is not a film set, it is a research facility where cosmonauts are engaged in work.

They are very busy there - and not with filming, but with their own affairs.

They did everything in their power, I believe.

-

We pay a lot of attention to you and Julia, because you filmed the first full-length film in space, and therefore you, of course, can be called pioneers.

But obviously those who watched you from Earth were worried about you.

Your children must have been very excited to learn that you are going to fly into space?

- Yes.

My daughter was a little worried.

Cried at startup.

The eldest son was very confident, at least he looked like that.

He showed no fear for me.

And the youngest son is still too young to understand what is happening.

-

Did you keep in touch with them from space?

- Yes, I called them.

And one more time we spoke via video link.

There I did not have time to often call someone.

You may have noticed that when I landed, I had a beard, although I flew away without it.

I didn't have time to shave there.

It takes five times as long there, and I thought, “Do I have to shave?

Maybe it's better to start shooting earlier? "

-

And only 12 days.

- Yes.

Everything takes more time there.

If I had stayed there for, say, a couple of months, I would have started to miss them.

And in such a short period of time, when it was necessary to have time to do so much work, there was no time to be bored.

-

Takeoff or landing - which was harder?

Or what was it more like?

- It was more like a roller coaster.

Awesome roller coaster ride.

(And so - 

RT

) landing.

Takeoff was not as difficult as it is commonly believed.

We had, it seems, only two and a half g's.

-

Overload?

- Yes, overload.

But in total, it seems to be two and a half g.

So it's not bad at all.

On landing, it seems to be more than four, maybe four and a half.

But we were being prepared for eight.

So it wasn't bad at all.

No, we landed when the parachute opened, the capsule began to swing like this (shows with his hands. -

RT

).

But again, I thought it would rotate three hundred and sixty (degrees -

RT

).

Prior to this, the American astronaut, Shane, said that he had landed twice, and it was some kind of frenzied leap.

There was a mad jump, of course, but I thought it would be ten times frenzied.

But yes, the sensations are still!

  • A member of the film crew of the film "Challenge", director Klim Shipenko after landing of the descent vehicle of the manned transport spacecraft "Soyuz MS-18"

  • RIA News

  • © Sergey Savostyanov

-

As you noted, everything does not end with preparation for the flight.

Upon your return to Earth, you seem to have been taken to Star City for re-habituation, adaptation to earthly life.

- Right.

It took two to three days.

-

Was it difficult?

For example, the first steps after landing.

- There were difficulties.

After all, you need to adjust the gyroscope in your head.

It was difficult for me to figure out where the floor is, where the ceiling is.

So it took me two to three days to start walking with confidence.

-

But you looked at ease upon landing.

At least in the photographs.

There was something cinematic about them.

Julia was sitting in sunglasses, you are crossing your legs.

They looked like: "Oh, we just returned from a trip!"

Did you have a sigh of relief upon landing: “Yes, everything is safe;

everything that is planned has been done! ”?

- Oh yeah.

-

"... Everything that we counted on."

- Oh yeah.

As at the end of a large-scale, difficult work, you feel the satisfaction that everything has been done.

You went through everything and did everything.

I was pleased that the plan for the ISS filming was fully fulfilled.

Everything I planned, I took off.

Looks, I think, very good.

The producers like it.

There was a sense of satisfaction that a great job had been done!

-

It

is

clear that you, as a director, are now too bored on Earth, you have already been in orbit, have worked there, what's next?

There is nothing left, except, probably, Mars, the Moon?

“Well, that doesn’t mean… that I’ll just move further into the Universe, and then fly away to another galaxy.

No, that's not how I reason.

I have other projects.

And I'm not at all bored of making films on Earth.

There are numerous projects awaiting me, which I will take on after completing the film The Challenge.

No, I'm very interested in just human stories.

Maybe my flight experience will somehow satiate them;

maybe I will reveal them somehow differently than I thought.

But this does not mean that now I will fly and prepare to shoot on the Moon or Mars.

There are no such plans.

-

When can we expect the release of the picture?

- Definitely before the end of next year.

-

That is, we will have to wait ...

- Yes, it was just the beginning.

… To see the results of your twelve days of work in space?

Do you think this was a test?

- Of course.

- What was the greatest challenge for you as a director?

- Oh yeah.

And as for a person.

As for a cinematographer, of course.

As for a person.

Of course, life will now be divided into "before the flight" and "after the flight."

-

Finally, I will ask: if you are offered to fly again, will you fly?

- Yes.

Not this week, but maybe next Thursday is ready. 

This week you just need to ...

-

… get used to the force of gravity.

- Yes, there are some things to be done before I go there again.

Watch the video version of the interview on RTD October 31.