White Snow
White Snow () is a 2020 Russian biographical sports drama film directed by Nikolay Khomeriki. The film is based on real events that happened at the 1997 FIS Cross-Country World Cup. For the first time in the history of the competition, a man or woman skier Yelena Vyalbe played by Olga Lerman won five out of five gold medals in all events entered. It is scheduled to be theatrically released on March 4, 2021 by CaroRental. Plot. The film tells about a girl named Lena Trubitsyna from Magadan, Soviet Union, who has become a successful sportswoman and participates  in the World Ski Championships. In 1997, at the World Ski Championships in Trondheim, Norway and for the first time in the history of World Championship skiing, a skier, Russian Yelena Vyalbe, won five gold medals out of five possible. Returning the awards to Russia, Vyalbe 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 Vyalbe in Norway and invites her to the royal palace. The conversation is about the merits of skiing. The king is of course a ski  enthusiast and invites Vyalbe to coach the Norwegian ski team. Vyalbe suddenly remembers the whole past through a flashback that starts from the very beginning and ends with a momentous day in Trondheim. Production. The concept of the film is based on a large-scale biopic set in the winter ski mountains of Russia and Estonia. The filmmakers presented a film about historical and legendary records in cross-country skiing, recorded in the history of sports by the Russian athlete Yelena Vyalbe. Since February 1997, at Granåsen Ski Centre in Trondheim, Norway, at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1997 , one of the most striking events in the history of Russia and the world of sports took place: a woman won gold in all five cross-country skiing competitions. Yelena Vyalbe was a simple resident of Magadan. However, the audience witnessed the preservation of sportsmanship and perseverance as the Russian skier gained recognition from Norway. The skier was the only woman to set such a sports record. The filmmakers have known Vyalbe since the 90s as a beacon of Russian pride. They bought "White Snow" for the screens, which, in their opinion, is part of the collective consciousness of Russia  as a whole. According to director Nikolay Khomeriki, «I was hooked in this story that through the story of one strong man the story of the whole country is being told...». From the production of the film company EGO Production - "White Snow" is a reliable retelling of events, permission for which was given by Yelena Vyalbe herself. Today Yelena Vyalbe 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, Vyalbe provided support at all stages of filming, including  script adjustments and even advice to actresses who played challenging roles in real-life skiing conditions. Especially for the filming of the film, Atomic and Fischer made skis of the 1997 design. Filming. Principal photography began in 2020, the film was shot in the ski mountains of Magadan, Moscow, Russia and Tallinn, Pärnu, Estonia. A professional sports team of 26 people took part in the filming of the film in the town of Kirovsk, Murmansk Oblast - members of the Russian national skiing team, winners of the World Cup stages, winners of the World Ski Championships, champions and prize-winners of  the Russian Championship, an international judge. The champion's granddaughter Yelena Vyalbe at the age of 8 played Angelina Vyalbe in the children's role. Release. "White Snow" was the opening film of the 18th international festival "". The event took place in December 2020 in the town of Vyborg. In total, the competition program included eleven full-length feature films. The film premiered in Russia on March 4, 2021, the Russian distributor is the film company "CaroRental".