Filming of the disaster film "ICEBREAKER" has been completed

A memorable date

Exactly 30 years ago – on August 11, 1985 – the second drift of the research vessel «Mikhail Somov» came to an end. At that time, «Somov» became trapped in heavy ice off the coast of Antarctica, and for 133 days tried to escape from the icy captivity – it is this story that formed the basis of the plot of the film «Icebreaker». But on screen it will be told differently, the names of the ships and the real names of the characters will be changed. At the center of the narrative is a person and how they will or will not be able to remain one under extreme conditions, under the most severe emotional strain. «This story is dramatically very interesting: the crew members find themselves in a confined space and do not know whether they will survive and return home», – says the film's director Nikolay Khomeriki. – «And their heroism lies in enduring, not losing heart, continuing to live, believe, and remain human in any situation».

Before filming, Pyotr Fyodorov, who played the role of Captain Petrov, met with his prototype – the captain of «Somov» Valentin Rodchenko, who was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union after the end of the drift. «It is very important for any actor to have the opportunity to get closer to the professional world of his hero before filming begins. Especially when the story is about heroic people and precise professions – here it is important not to make mistakes», – says Pyotr Fyodorov. – «It seemed to me that it was also important to understand how to build up the very attitude toward the ship in terms of feelings – because on the one hand, this is the power and grandeur of a huge ship, and on the other, an absolutely everyday routine, daily work of a large team and, importantly, not at all of a military nature. If you look at documentary materials, from the outside it may seem that practically hipsters are running around the deck, such bearded guys in blue Alaska jackets with orange lining, in ushanka hats and felt boots, all this is mesmerizing. Therefore, again, it is interesting not to brutalize the theme of heroism, but, after all, to tell about people, with their own characters and conflicts. And the women who were waiting for them».

The project consultant – honored polar explorer, captain of «Mikhail Somov» from 1998 to 2014 Yuri Nasteko – is responsible for the authenticity of what happens on screen. His participation in the film was not limited to valuable advice – he played the role of a crew member receiving a helicopter aboard the icebreaker.

How to film the Antarctic not in the Antarctic

Filming of the picture began in April in Murmansk on the nuclear icebreaker «Lenin» – an operating city museum, which was closed to visitors for the entire preparation and filming period.

To make the icebreaker look like a ship in Antarctic drift, it was thoroughly decorated with prop snow. Specifically for the filming, a paraffin system was designed to create the effect of icing – from light frost to heavy ice layers. In addition, grated paraffin was used for close-ups – it most closely resembles real snow. Handrails and small details were decorated with spray, which was also used to «snow» the mustaches and beards of all team members, and a powerful wind blower and paper created a snowstorm and covered the icebreaker's deck. More than 12 types of synthetic snow were used to decorate the ship and create the blizzard, 7 tons of paraffin and the same amount of paper were used.

Paraffin was also used to decorate the hummocks – piles of ice fragments that form as a result of compression of the ice cover. The basis of the construction was wooden europallets and plywood, which were covered with synthetic padding. Foam plastic was used to create the ice sculpture, and everything was covered with paraffin on top.

A huge part of the work will fall on the computer graphics creators, since most of the scenes are filmed against chroma key backgrounds. Chroma key constructions were installed at the bow and stern of the icebreaker, which were placed at a certain angle so as not to block the light for the camera. In total, more than 100 meters of chroma key fabric was used.

After filming in Murmansk, the film crew moved to the Khibiny Mountains – the largest mountain range on the Kola Peninsula. Snow-covered expanses are not only excellent texture for on-location filming – it is here that the snow cover reaches several meters in thickness, which was necessary for building special structures under the snow for filming the scene of the main character's fall into a snow cave. It took several days to build the cave itself: the entire inner part is a set made of boards, wax, foam plastic, and other materials, filled with melted wax and covered with cellulose snow. The size of the cave (3.5 by 14 meters) allowed it to accommodate about ten people standing, but one had to move very carefully so as not to disturb the integrity of the structure. The most difficult part of the work fell to Pyotr Fyodorov – the filming of his hero's awakening in the cave after the fall was shot in real snow, in which he had to lie for a total of more than an hour.

The explosion of fuel barrels was also filmed here. Decorative barrels, one of which contained explosives, were placed at a certain point and detonated remotely. The explosion was filmed from several angles using a skylift and crash box, and the actors running from the explosion were filmed by the cameraman handheld. The difficulty of filming this scene was that the spring snow was no longer so stable, and the film crew and actors often sank knee-deep or even waist-deep into the snow – running in such conditions was almost impossible. In addition, it was very important to preserve the integrity of the snow cover for close-up filming. Therefore, after each take, all traces were carefully concealed, and the film crew walked in single file along a narrow path.

The hardest test for the actors was filming in Sevastopol, when under the scorching sun at 30-degree heat they had to film in sheepskin coats, felt boots, and mittens. Here the scene of the hold flooding was filmed, when the ice hummocks pierce the side of the ship. The hold, several stories high, was built of timber and plywood, which were then processed to give them a metallic sheen, and to add layers and rust, the entire structure was coated from the inside with special paints. The result was an exact copy of the «Mikhail Somov» hold.

The madness of the brave

Participation in the film «Icebreaker» required serious physical and emotional preparation from the actors, since they had to perform the most complex stunts.

During the filming of the scene of the helicopter cockpit catching fire, Alexander Pal refused stuntmen and preferred to burn himself. Alexander Yatsenko's character, trying to save a comrade who fell into the water and his dog, was lowered on a cable overboard the icebreaker and was lifted back wet and with the dog in his arms. When filming the helicopter crash, Sergei Puskepalis and Alexander Pal spent several hours in the water in wetsuits and polar explorer clothes, maneuvering between ice blocks and fragments.

The scene of the hero falling overboard was filmed with a stuntman. A special construction consisting of a container and a slide was mounted on the ship's bow, from which 20 tons of water poured onto the stuntman in one take and washed him into the icy sea.

You on shore – I on sea

The scenes with the captains' wives performed by Anna Mikhalkova and Olga Smirnova were filmed in St. Petersburg – the city turned out to be the only place where no large, massive sets were built. In the dormitory where, according to the plot, Captain Petrov's wife and son live, the room and corridors were decorated. The dormitory is real – and all its residents found themselves for some time in the middle of the 1980s. Filming also took place in a hospital where the son of the second captain, Sevchenko, is born.

The rescue expedition scenes were filmed in the Sea Port on the diesel icebreaker «Yermak». Here, as in Murmansk, chroma key backgrounds were installed and prop snow was used.

Back in USSR

The action of the picture unfolds in 1985. To achieve authenticity, the main task of the artists, costume designers, and prop masters was to find as many items and various objects of that time as possible. The filmmakers studied documentary materials, talked with participants of the real «Somov» expedition, consulted with researchers and the Russian Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic, found clothes at flea markets, and what was needed in several copies for filming stunts with multiple takes was created from sketches.

As a result, everything – from cars and polar explorers' clothing to pencils and toffees – accurately recreates the atmosphere of that era.

To be continued

Currently, the picture is in post-production, with special emphasis on computer graphics work. «We plan to release «Icebreaker» in theaters in the fall of 2016. I hope that the picture will interest our viewers both with its plot, and with its characters, and with its spectacle, because at the heart of the film is a real story about real-life heroes, strong people confronting a powerful element», – comments PROFIT's general producer Igor Tolstunov.