White Snow (Russian: Белый снег, romanized: Bely sneg) is a 2020 Russian biographical sports drama film directed by Nikolay Khomeriki. The film is based on events that happened at the 1997 FIS Cross-Country World Cup. For the first time in the history of the competition, a skier Yelena Välbe played by Olga Lerman won five out of five gold medals in all events entered.[2][3] The film theatrically released on March 4, 2021 by KaroRental.[4]
| White Snow | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Nikolay Khomeriki |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Fedor Lyass |
| Music by | Aleksey Aygi |
Production company | EGO Production |
| Distributed by | KaroRental |
Release dates |
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Running time | 127 minutes |
| Country | Russia |
| Language | Russian |
| Box office |
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Plot[5] edit
The film tells about a girl named Lena Trubitsyna from Magadan, Soviet Union, who participates in the World Ski Championships.
Returning the awards to Russia, Välbe goes on a tour of Norway. There she learns more about the Norwegian monarchy, as she is interested in the history of the royal family. The king learns about Välbe in Norway and invites her to the royal palace. The conversation is about the merits of skiing. The king is a ski enthusiast and invites Välbe to coach the Norwegian ski team. Välbe suddenly remembers the whole past through a flashback that starts from the very beginning and ends with a momentous day in Trondheim.[6]
Cast edit
- Olga Lerman as Yelena Välbe (also tr. Elena Vyalbe), a Soviet and Russian cross-country skier
- Angelina Välbe as Yelena 'Lena' Trubitsyna, 8 years old
- Polina Vataga as Yelena 'Lena' Trubitsyna, 14 years old
- Fyodor Dobronravov as Viktor, grandfather
- Nadezhda Markina as Militsa, grandmother
- Anna Ukolova as Yelena's mother
- Aleksandr Ustyugov as Maksimych, instructor
- Mikhail Bespalov as Trubitsyn, a taxi driver
- Darya Ekamasova as Irina Makarova
- Anna Kotova as Larisa Lazutina
- Vadim Andreyev as Petr
- Dmitriy Podnozov as Grushin
- Aleksander Gorbatov as Yuriy 'Yura'
- Polina Chernyshova as Nina Gavrylyuk
- Ekaterina Ageeva as Olga Danilova
- Aleksandr Klyukvin as Zharov, a sports commentator
- Vladimir Kapustin as Voronin
- Natalya Tereshkova as Tamara Tikhonova
- Lasse Lindberg as King of Norway
- Johan Elm as Urmas Välbe (also tr. Urmas Vyalbe)
- Stepan Rival as Franz
- Artyom Eshkin as Ilya
- Mariya Bystrova as Trude Dybendahl
- Odd Helge Brugrand as Norwegian policeman
Production edit
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The concept of the film is a biopic set in the winter ski mountains of Russia and Estonia. The filmmakers presented a film about records in cross-country skiing by the Russian athlete Yelena Välbe. Since February 1997, at Granåsen Ski Centre in Trondheim, Norway, at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1997, a woman won gold in all five cross-country skiing competitions.
From the production of the film company EGO Production - White Snow is a retelling of events, permission for which was given by Vyalbe herself. Today Välbe is the president of the All-Russian public organization "Russian Ski Racing Federation", head of the Russian Ski Sports Association, multiple world and Olympic champion. When White Snow was in production, Välbe provided support at all stages of filming, including script adjustments and advice to actresses who played challenging roles in real-life skiing conditions.[7]
Filming edit
Principal photography began in 2020, the film was shot in the ski mountains of Magadan, Moscow, Russia[8] and Tallinn, Pärnu, Estonia.
Release edit
White Snow was the opening film of the 18th international festival "Window to Europe Film Festival". The event took place in December 2020 in the town of Vyborg. In total, the competition program included eleven full-length feature films.[9][10] The film premiered in Russia on March 4, 2021, the Russian distributor is the film company "KaroRental".
References edit
- ^ "Белый снег - Financial Information Russia (CIS)". The Numbers. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
- ^ "White Snow Movie: World's First Biopic About Star Of XCSkiing Is Almost Complete". The Daily Skier. July 23, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
- ^ Karev, Igor (December 11, 2020). "Елена Вяльбе: я бы скорее упала сама, чем бросила флаг" [Yelena Vyalbe: I would rather fall myself than throw the flag]. Arguments and Facts (in Russian). Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ "Рецензия на байопик о Елене Вяльбе "Белый снег". Фильм – отражение нынешней ситуации в лыжах" [Review of the biopic about Yelena Vyalbe White Snow. The film is a reflection of the current situation in skiing]. Eurosport (in Russian). 5 March 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
- ^ "Белый снег - Financial Information Russia (CIS)". The Numbers. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
- ^ "Белый снег, 2021". KinoPoisk (in Russian). Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ Khoroshilova, Tatyana (April 22, 2020). "На лыжах - в историю" [On skis - in history]. rg.ru (in Russian). Retrieved March 5, 2021.
- ^ "In Moscow finished shooting the film White snow on skier Elena Vyalbe". KXan 36 Daily News. August 3, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
- ^ Sychev, Sergey (December 10, 2020). "Жди и смотри: 10 фестивальных хитов декабря" [Wait and see: 10 festival hits in December]. Izvestia (in Russian). Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ "В Выборге в полузакрытом формате стартовал кинофестиваль "Окно в Европу"" [The "Window to Europe" film festival started in Vyborg in a semi-closed format]. regnum.ru (in Russian). Retrieved February 13, 2021.
External links edit
- White Snow at IMDb
