Film “The Time of the First” by Dmitry Kiselyov and Timur Bekmambetov
“The Time of the First, The Thaw, The New Generation of People Who Made a Breakthrough in Space”, - this is how Timur Bekmambetov described the space epic, the presentation of which took place on March 24 as part of Moscow Cultural Forum 2017.
History of the film
As Bekmambetov says, it all started with a call Yevgenia Mironova (the main role is cosmonaut Leonov and producer) with a proposal to make a film. Bekmambetov admitted that at first he did not understand Mironov’s fervor and was skeptical about the idea. But after meeting the first person to go into outer space, the legendary Leonov, he immediately changed his mind. A large-scale, subsequently quite expensive project was launched, lasting three years. The true author of the script was the cosmonaut himself, who for the first time told Mironov and Bekmambetov the story of his feat, which he had never told anyone before.
Bekmambetov admitted:
“And half of what Leonov told was not included in the film.”
The presentation was opened Alexander Vladimirovich Kibovsky, the head of the Moscow Department of Culture, who admitted that he had already worked with Timur Bekmambetov as a historical consultant on the film “Yolki 1914.” Kibovsky stated that Timur is “an extremely meticulous director in historical details.” Anticipating a possible offer of cooperation, the official refused due to his busy schedule, but came to support his friend.
Special effects and Russian films about space
The film excerpts shown promise the highest quality special effects. which were worked on by a domestic master who also worked on the Lord of the Rings team in New Zealand.
The special effects in space, which is about 2/3 of the entire film, do not look like they were shot on a green background due to their high quality and accurate historical reconstruction of the ship, spacesuits and other details.
During the interview, Bekmambetov mentioned the talented director and cameraman Pavel Vladimirovich Klushantseva - “the godfather of Star Wars.” In the early 1990s, Klushantsev passed on his unique developments to American director George Lucas and Hollywood special effects director Robert Skotak in order to preserve at least part of his knowledge.
Why do we need a movie about space now?
“Time of the First” is a film about brave and talented people who made breakthroughs in science.
“There are few heroes in life...” says Bekmambetov.
Although the producer and director states that “the state is the main decisive and driving force of any change both in cinema and in space,” he is confident that an individual can push for global changes.
The project team was in a hurry to release the film before April 12. After all, the conquest of space has become our national pride. And now the holiday is no longer celebrated so widely... Since the audience of the film belongs to the 6+ category, one can hope for the emergence of a new generation of astronauts. It’s not for nothing that the slogan chosen as the film’s motto is "Raise your head!"
We are waiting for the premiere!
Special thanks to the film's actor Anatoly Kotenev for the invitation to the presentation!
