First on the Moon (2005)

By means of archival footage, this mockumentary "reconstructs" how the Russians secretly realised the first manned flight to the moon as early as the 1930s.

Director:

Aleksey Fedorchenko

Writers:

Aleksandr Gonorovskiy (screenplay), Ramil Yamaleyev (screenplay)

Stars:

Boris Vlasov, Viktoriya Ilyinskaya, Anatoliy Otradnov

9 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Boris Vlasov	...	Ivan Kharlamov
Viktoriya Ilyinskaya	...	Nadezhda Svetlaya
Anatoliy Otradnov	...	Khanif Fattakhov in old age
Aleksei Slavnin	...	Khanif Fattakhov in young age
Viktor Kotov	...	Mikhail Roshchin
Andrey Osipov	...	Fyodor Suprun
Aleksey Anisimov	...	Operator of People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs
Igor Sannikov	...	Circus artiste
Nina Kameneva	...	Nurse
Polina Litovskaya	...	Nurse
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sergey Paramonov	...	Kiryanov

Storyline

In spring 1938 in the mountains in the north of Chile a fiery UFO, later named "Chilean Sphere", fell down. The investigation of this episode, made by a film crew, has led to a sensational discovery. It appeared that before the Second World War (in the thirties) in the USSR a secret space program had been developed. The Soviet scientists and military authorities managed to launch the first spacecraft 23 years prior to Yuri Gagarin's flight. "The First on the Moon" tells about everyday life, heroic deeds and tragedy of the first group of the Soviet cosmonauts. It is the first Russian film shot in a very rare genre 'mockumentary' or 'documentary fiction'.

---

Plot Keywords:

outer space | soviet union | space mission | 1930s | alternative history | 

---

Taglines:

We are the first. USSR.

---

Genres:

Mystery | Sci-Fi

---

Did You Know?

Trivia

When elements of the plot started leaking out, a number of Russian newspapers treated it as a documentary about a real 1938 event, referring to it as the Santiago Meteorite. In reality, the film is fiction from beginning to end. To quote the director: "Some type of new genre. It was very difficult to decide on a name. So far, for me this is either historical drama or documentary fantasy." He also said: "Our film is about how the Soviet state machinery manufactured major products - the best people. Fine, strong and clever heroes, then rendered [them] unnecessary to the native land - some have been destroyed, others lost in obscurity, yet others still broken by fear."

---

Connections

Features Cosmic Journey (1936)

User Reviews

"Alternative History" at its best...

"Mockumentary" doesn't do this film justice. Apparently the director's label is "documentary fantasy", but "alternative history" works for me. There's some humor here, but it's not a comedy. After all, taking the premise that Stalin had a secret space program in the 30's to its logical conclusion doesn't exactly point to it being a Laff Riot... What you DO have is a fascinating "historical" documentary tracing this secret rocket program of the late 1930's and following the cosmonaut's lives before, during, and after. Much of what would be seen as "fictional recreations" in most documentaries is explained and presented as NKVD surveillance video -- a great conceit. The film includes recreations of newsreels, training films, and also "contemporary" interviews that support a fascinating story. I saw this at the 2006 Seattle International Film Festival, where it sold out both showings. See it if you can!

Details

Country:

Russia

Language:

Russian Spanish

Release Date:

29 September 2005 (Russia)

Also Known As:

First on the Moon

Filming Locations:

Chelyabinsk, Russia

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kinokompaniya Strana, Sverdlovskaya Kinostudiya

Technical Specs

Runtime:

72 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color