The world of figure skating held its breath in anticipation of the premiere of the documentary “Medvedev vs. Medvedeva”. From the title it is easy to guess who this tape is about: the two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva. Filming took almost four years, but the hard work was definitely worth it. The creators and the heroine herself promise a lot of exclusive material and honest, undisguised emotions.
The film has already appeared in the Kinopoisk database, a well-known Russian-language site about cinema, but it is too early to talk about the release of the picture – the date of the show has not yet been announced.
However, a little patience is a small price when it comes to a truly interesting and large-scale project. “Medvedeva against Medvedeva” is just that.
“An honest and frank story about the life of one of the most closed champions of our country”
The sporting career of Evgenia Medvedeva is not the first time that they have been reflected on the screen. So, in 2016, “Match TV” showed a short documentary “1 + 1”, in which fans were able to get acquainted with the victorious tandem of the figure skater and her coach Eteri Tutberidze. In 2018, another brilliant premiere took place – the Japanese television people told the story of how they beat Zhenya in the Olympic season. A stress fracture, a long recovery, a defeat by Alina Zagitova in Pyeongchang and endless love from the fans – the film turned out to be dramatic and very strong.
Evgenia Medvedeva
Photo: Alexander Safonov, “Championship”
However, the new documentary is much bigger than previous projects. It was filmed for almost four years, so Zhenya spent hundreds of hours under the cameras. According to the Red Square media group, which took part in the production of the film together with the athlete’s team, filming began in May 2019. That is, they covered a very bright period of Medvedeva’s life in Canada, where she was trained with Brian Orser.
“I got tired when they said around “Medvedev against Zagitova”, “Medvedev against Trusova”. I was not against anyone, but against myself. I changed my body, I conquered fears. I have always been Medvedeva against Medvedeva. I look in the mirror and work against this person, ”the Red Square press service quoted Medvedev as saying.
Poster
Photo: jmedvedevaj_official
It is symbolic that the filming of the film ended shortly before Zhenya’s birthday (November 19). Only then did the veil of the secret of the grandiose project fall.
“On the eve of Evgenia Medvedeva’s birthday, the very emotional filming of the documentary Medvedeva vs. Medvedeva. This is not an ordinary sports film, but an honest and frank story about the life of one of the most closed champions of our country, ”representatives of the project told TASS.
“Lots of unpublished material”
Of course, the news about the documentary excited Zhenya’s fans, and indeed the entire figure skating community. The girl intrigued with exclusive photos from training and performances, and she also said that the release of the picture is not far off.
“Soon the documentary “Medvedev vs. Medvedeva”, which we have been filming with the Red Square media group for almost four years. Work on the film began in May 2019, at the same time as the vlog “A Day in the Life of Zhenya Medvedeva” was launched on the blogosphere. So I let movie cameras into my life a long time ago. Soon it will be announced where and when it will be possible to see the film. Spectators will see the training and how new numbers are born on the ice, a lot of exclusive things, ”he quotes 7 days Medvedev.
On the matchup between Medvedeva and Zagitova at the 2018 Olympics:
Unfortunately, six months have passed, but the date and place of Medvedeva’s hearing against Medvedeva have not been set so far. Or, at least, not announced to the general public. And Zhenya herself managed to get a little confused when answering questions about the film. Suddenly there was a version that the shooting began in 2018.
“There will really be a lot of exclusives, because the filming of this movie started in 2018. There is a lot of unreleased material: from Canada you will see a lot of things, here already, “Ice Age”, all this can be observed. I think it will be interesting for the viewer. I probably still don’t understand the full significance of the event, so I treated it all like another shooting, reportage.
Probably yes, the film about Evgeny Medvedev sounds beautiful and pretentious, of course (laughs).
But I myself wonder what will come of it, because there is a lot of material that I don’t even remember. I mean, there are some childhood shots that were digitized from a healthy cassette camcorder. They digitized these videos, where I am very young, where I am two or three years old, where I just started skating. No one has ever seen these shots, and I’ve never seen them either.
So there will be a lot of interesting things. I still don’t understand what it is, but we’ll see, ”Medvedev shared his expectations on the Kvaksel YouTube channel.
Evgenia Medvedeva
Photo: Dmitry Golubovich, Championship
Obviously, the work on the film was very painstaking on the part of all the participants. And Zhenya, as the main character, of course, was constantly immersed in this process in one way or another. No wonder she forgets some details and numbers. It is much more important that the end result justifies all the work and effort invested. Although, perhaps, you don’t have to worry about quality – professionals took part in the project, and Zhenya herself is a well-known perfectionist and she will definitely check that everything turns out as it should.
A documentary with a view to a feature film?
Although the film’s release date is still unknown, it was featured on the popular Kinopoisk movie site. The poster was missing at the time of writing, as was most of the information. But it was learned that the tape is intended to be shown on television, which means that almost anyone can see it.
Perhaps Zhenya’s story will inspire some of the young athletes and / or help someone just cope with some life difficulties, provide inspiration on the path to a dream. The film does not have such tasks, but it certainly will not leave anyone indifferent.
“You know, probably, the documentary is not intended to teach anyone anything. This is just a story, a frank story about what happened to me in life, how I felt and experienced everything. Lots of new facts. I do not think that for someone it becomes some kind of benefit in life. This is just my honest story. And if someone comes to conclusions for himself, these will only be his conclusions. I do not have a goal to teach someone something, ”Medvedev told Gazeta.ru.
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However, film producer Ilya Krivitsky believes that Medvedeva vs. Medvedeva is a motivational story about a real character. And it seems that this story has already inspired him to launch a feature film about figure skating. And who knows, suddenly Zhenya will play the main role?
“Figure skating is a beautiful and inspiring sport, the experience of this filming will help launch a great movie,” Krivitsky shared with TASS.
