"Our grandfathers managed to defeat a terrible enemy, and now we have to"

Airplanes on giant balloons, a fake airfield, LED screens - the creators of the film "There is only a Moment" are implementing a truly large—scale project. The film is produced by People's Artist of Russia Igor Ugolnikov. At the International Film Market in Moscow, the NMG Film Distribution company presented a military comedy about the pilots of the Voenfilm studio. The film about the heroic feat of the Soviet people will be released on November 27. In the meantime, work on it continues, Igor Ugolnikov reminded Izvestia that comedies were filmed during the Great Patriotic War.

"We built an improvised airfield"

— Why did you decide to make a war film in the comedy genre?

— Usually the studio "Voenfilm" makes heavy films about the war — "Brest Fortress", "Podolsk cadets". Recently, "At the Call of my Heart," a picture of the people's militia that I suffered so much, was released. And then we decided to exhale a little, smile. After all, as we know, comedies were filmed during the Great Patriotic War. The whole question is how to carefully maintain an attitude towards events and not desecrate the memory of our ancestors.

It was also interesting for me to create a film in a slightly different genre, and to master new technology and apply it to filming airplanes.

— What kind of technology?

— We shoot all the tricks with airplanes here with the help of giant gimbles (stabilizer holding the plane. — Ed.). The models of the aircraft are made in such a way that they can not only move along the runway, but also stand on the ramps. A giant LED screen is used on the set. Everything here is not only as reliable as possible, but also technologically advanced — all for the sake of the emotions of the audience who will watch the film.

"There is only a Moment" is about the heroic feat of the Soviet people. And it is necessary to shoot this film without giveaways. The action takes place in 1944. We have built an improvised airfield in the Glavkino pavilion, which houses the Yak-3, MiG-3, Messerschmitt-109 and other aircraft. This is where we filmed the fight scenes.

— What is the movie about?

— Ivan Polivanov gets an eye burn in aerial combat and can no longer fly. After being discharged from the hospital, he is appointed head of the airfield. But he does not know that this is a fake structure that should distract the enemy's attention — a false airfield.

Polivanov is played by a young actor Daniil Popov. His hero dreams of returning to the sky and for this he wants to restore the downed MiG-3 fighter. Petty Officer Murashkin helps him in this.

— You invited a debutant. Is Daniil Popov a promising artist?

— I see the beginnings, Daniel is a wonderful talent, a very accurate actor, a charming guy. We wish him a great future in cinema.

— Foreman Murashkin is played by People's Artist of Russia Vladimir Ilyin. How did you convince him to star in your film?

— He believed Alexander Zhigalkin and me (the director of the film. Vladimir Ilyin is a very deep, powerful, demanding actor with the biggest letter "A". Screenwriter Alexander Karpov wrote the role of foreman Fyodor Murashkin specifically for him.

— Your grandfather was a pilot. Are you dedicating the film to him?

— I dedicate all films to grandfathers. And not only mine, but all those who gave their lives for the victory. This is a sacred topic for me. Mom's dad died in the People's militia on October 7, 1941. I found the place of his death. And the second grandfather, Daddy's dad, was a military pilot and engineer. He went through the entire war and died only in 1980.

"In the most difficult, scary moment of your life, a person makes a decision"

— Do you remember when Sergei Sotnikov, the caretaker of the abandoned airfield in Izhma, rescued passengers and a Tu-154 plane? He looked after the household entrusted to him, although planes had not landed at this airfield in Komi for a long time.

— And it turned out that it was necessary. Any person who honestly performs his duty is always in demand. This is the hero of any painting. His work is always necessary.

— What does "debt" mean?

— The people who worked at the false airfield were also doing their duty and very important work in the war. The Germans spent their efforts to bomb the false airfield, but the real airfield, from which our planes took off, remained unscathed. This is their big job.

— Is this a military strategy?

— Exactly, this is an important strategy. It was necessary to create some kind of theatricalization so that the Germans would believe that the airport was real. To do this, there are planes on it, they must move, properly camouflaged cars, and of course people. Creating a false airfield was their very important, but not an easy job.

— Fake oil plants were built in Baku so that the Germans would bomb them, not the real ones.

— So that's what the movie is about. A person should be in his place and do his job and his duty to the end, no matter what. This is also a feat.

— Many people don't even know about these inconspicuous heroes.

— Yes, there were a lot of inconspicuous heroes. And the entire Soviet people consisted mostly of these inconspicuous heroes. That's why we won that terrible war. People were strong in their unity. Why did the Brest Fortress stand? When I was a very young boy, I read a book about the feat of its defenders, and I was shocked by how a person makes a decision at the most difficult and terrible moment of his life.

When there was nothing left to fight with in the Brest Fortress — there was no command, no weapons, and, in fact, there was nothing left to fight for, and your relatives and friends were dying in the basement without water, the Germans said: "Surrender with dignity. You have completed your task." As a result, someone gave up, someone, in order to end their suffering, stood up to their full height and took a bullet in the chest. And there were those who stayed until the end. That's what shocked me. And with this decision, each of them brought the Great Victory of May 9, 1945 closer. And when they say that one in the field is not a warrior, this is not true. With this decision, one person changes the situation, changes the course of history. And when there are many such solutions, you can defeat a very scary, sophisticated, superbly prepared enemy. Our grandfathers and great-grandfathers succeeded in this. And now it's up to us. After all, the value of the current Victory is also important now because we need to protect that Victory of our ancestors. If there were no current Victory, that Victory would be taken away from them, rest assured, they are already being intensively taken away. This cannot be allowed.

"Moscow is building the destroyed Reichstag in the Moskino Film Park, at the Voenfilm site"

— Alexey Shevchenkov played the main role in "The Call sign of the Cranes" and plays in "There is only a Moment". Why do you appreciate this artist?

— For all his amazing human and professional qualities. He is also a great patriot. Alexey Shevchenkov is currently participating in our production of The Banner of Victory and in the production of Moscow Speaks, which we did at the Moskino Film Park. We played nine performances of this play in December.

— Studio "Voenfilm" is famous for its large fleet of equipment. Is it in demand now?

— They shoot different pictures at the studio. And the more opportunities we have, the better for cinema. I have a big picture ahead of me, The Banner of Victory, which will feature military equipment. The series "Ural to the Front", the film "Batka Minai" together with Belarusfilm.

— A film about the Great Patriotic War. And where will you plant the Victory banner? Are you hoping to go shoot in Berlin?

— No, Moscow is building the destroyed Reichstag in the Moskino Film Park, at the Voenfilm site. I am very grateful to our Mayor Sergey Sobyanin for his support in this difficult matter.

— And you didn't want to rush to Berlin for nature?

"Berlin?" Especially now? Hardly (he smiled). A few years ago, our aircraft from the Great Patriotic War flew to Berlin. There is a time for everything.

— What kind of action was that?

— A wartime plane flew from Moscow to Germany. In April 2018, it was a restored legendary Il-2 attack aircraft. It was shown at the ILA Berlin 2018 Aerospace Salon.

— You called the film "There is only a Moment". This phrase is consonant with the title of the song to the music of Zatsepin and the words of Derbenev. Perhaps it will sound like a soundtrack?

— It's not a fact that we will use the song itself. She's talking about something else. And the name of the film is like that because this phrase, "There is only a moment," fits this picture perfectly. A pun on words. And if anyone has any associations with this song, then that's fine. And so special music is being written for this picture.

— When will the audience see your film? Are you in time for May 9th?

- no. In order for the picture to be released in May, it must be prepared by the end of March. We need to spend another 3-4 months to make the sound and graphics properly.

By May 9th, a lot of pictures about the Great Patriotic War will be released. And I don't want to stand in line. It is already known for sure that "There is only a Moment" will be released in early November 2025.

"We are looking very carefully towards China"

— China is very fond of everything related to the Soviet Union and the Great Patriotic War. Are you already looking towards the East? Are you planning a rental in China?

— We are looking very carefully towards China. I think our Chinese viewers will like this picture. We are sure that they will be happy to rent it.

— Are you making efforts to show the film in the West?

"Which West?"

— Serbia, in other friendly countries.

— Let the distributors do it. They know how to do it. Including on the international film market. Our task is to make a decent film and present it to NMG-Kinoprokat. REN-TV acquires the television rights. I think a few more online cinemas will be our platforms for the realization of this picture. But these are the next steps. We need to prepare the film for distribution in early November of this year.

And by the way, if we talk about cultural ties with foreign countries, they are eager to attend our Tsiolkovsky International Film Festival of Films and Programs, which we hold annually for the sixth time in Kaluga from April 12 to 16, and applications for participation are coming from filmmakers from various countries. This year's program includes Germany, France, Italy, not to mention India, Brazil, Iran... a total of 25 countries. Foreign cinematographers are interested in presenting their work to Russian audiences, and I am sure foreign audiences are interested in Russian films.

— Do you think that young people are interested in watching films about the war that has already passed?

— It depends on what kind of youth. There is one who doesn't watch anything. They're not interested in anything, they're just on their phones. And there are young people who are interested. It all depends on which family someone grew up in.

Of course, we expect young people to watch "There is only a Moment." Both small children and adults can watch. We follow all the parameters of a family movie.