PH Embassy in Moscow Attends Historic Premiere of First Film Shot in Outer Space
Actors turned cosmonauts: the cast and crew of Vyzov, which will have its commercial premiere in Moscow, Russia on 20 April 2023.
MOSCOW 24 April 2023 – The Philippine Embassy in Moscow, upon the invitation of Russian space agency Roscosmos, attended the advanced screening of Vyzov (literally, “The Call”), the first feature-length fiction film with segments shot in out space by commercial professional filmmakers, on 12 April 2023, during the Russian Federation’s celebration of the Day of Cosmonauts which mark the pioneering manned space flight of Yuri Gagarin on 12 April 1961.
Prior to the film screening, Russian President Vladimir V. Putin delivered an in-person address to laud cosmonauts and personnel of Russia’s aerospace industry. He recognized the work of many generations of technicians, engineers, scientists, and administrators who have made it possible for the country to achieve its advanced space program through exploration and research.
The cast and crew of the film Vyzov, which will be released commercially with the alternate title “The Challenge” were present during the premiere. The film is groundbreaking and historic as it is the first movie with segments that were actually shot in space, particularly in the International Space Station (ISS).
The The Soyuz MS-19 manned spacecraft blasted off on 5 October 2021 to commence shooting in the ISS. The actors underwent intensive training with Roscosmos before the launch at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, which is leased by the Kazakhstani government to Russia for its manned space flight launches. The filming crew spent a total of 12 days in space.
In his speech, President Putin called the completion of the film “a truly civic act, worthy of a human being. They produced an excellent science and education project.”
“We were the first to shoot a full-length feature film on board a spacecraft orbiting the Earth. Here, too, we were the first,” he said, alluding to Gagarin’s extraordinary achievement. President Putin also called the film “an unparalleled event in the world of cinema.”
Peresild’s and the rest of the crew’s rapid space readiness training and successful space flight is projected to have far-reaching implications on the future of space travel for civilians, fueled with by the growth of the demand for space tourism.
The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) is currently negotiating an inter-governmental cooperation agreement with Roscmosos to share best practices and to explore other opportunities for information exchange and capacity building. END