Published on: 2026-04-06
Source: Mosfilm Film Concern – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
06 April 2026
News Editorial
In pavilion 9 of Mosfilm, work continues on a new project—a psychological drama “Survive in the Ice.” Director Alexander Zachinyaev (in the photo) told Mosfilm.ru how the atmosphere of a real polar station is recreated on the set: why actors are growing real beards and why the film crew needed artificial snow.
The film crew of “The Ice Road” under the direction of director Alexander Zakhinayev continues working in pavilion No. 9 of the Mosfilm studio. As of today, the interiors of the film’s key locations have been constructed here: the internal premises of the polar station “Vostok”, the company cabin, the infirmary, the medical room, and the radio room. The sets, according to the production designer, turned out to be authentic.“Everything looks impressive, dense, honest. Visually, it seems to me, the data and interiors cannot be distinguished from real ones”, — shared his first impressions of working with the artists, Alexander Zachinyaev.
The construction of decorations will not be limited to just one pavilion. Two more sites will be involved in the shooting. One of the pavilions will house a pilot’s cabin with real aircraft equipment and a hydraulic platform to simulate shaking, while the other will be dedicated to the decoration of the drilling rig.
The filmmakers are now roughly halfway through the shooting process. The main action — scenes of fire, the arrival of aviation, and dynamic movements everywhere — has been left behind. These episodes were filmed in February-March during an expedition in the Murmansk region, and now the work in the pavilion has shifted to a different plane.“Here we are already working with dramaturgy, more dialogues, psychological elements. Dynamic scenes – fire, airplane – we successfully filmed on location”, — explains the director, emphasizing that the time has come for working through the psychological depth of images and live acting scenes.
One of the main tasks, according to the director, now is to realistically convey the weather conditions of the Arctic inside the pavilion.
“For example, in reality, snow organically stuck to the clothes of the heroes and also naturally melted. In the warm pavilion, professionals take care: snow is placed in a cooler so that it does not melt instantly. Another difficulty is that now actors often get hot in warm costumes!” — says the director about the life of actors in polar gear.
Filming of the movie “Survive in Ice” in pavilion 9 of Mosfilm.
Special attention is deserved for the casting process. The film creators were looking for character actors whose appearance closely resembled the images of Soviet polar explorers.“We have a wonderful acting ensemble – and at the same time, we did not focus exclusively on star performers. The main criterion is that the actors should look natural, that each one is interesting on their own, with their own “distinctive feature,” and that they differ from each other.”, — shared the director.
Most actors have grown real beards specifically for the role, which largely simplified the work of the makeup artists — at this stage, their main task is to create the effect of facial hair removal, which must ideally match the previously removed material.
Filming in the pavilion will continue until the end of April. After the completion of the pavilion shifts, the group is scheduled to shoot at several locations in Moscow. Then the footage will go through an editing and color grading period: voice and sound effects will be added, music will be recorded, re-recording will be done, work with images, and more.
Let us remind that the action of the film “The Ice Survivors” unfolds at the beginning of the 1980s. The main characters of the film are employees of a polar station in Antarctica, who find themselves in an extreme situation during one of the winter stays.
The project is being implemented by the order of “Mosfilm” by the company “Gopkins Film Production”. The film’s executive producer is a famous film director, the general director of the Film Concern.Karen Sha Nazarov. The director’s chair and screenplay authorship belong toTo Aleksandr Zachinyaev. The producer group includedAndrey Gushchin, Denis Lopatkin, Alexander Perevezentsev, Andrey Starovoitov, Gennady GorbachevиAnatoly Shelyakin. The operator-supplier becameAlik Tagirov, and a stage director —Yuliya Makushina. The cast includes both recognized masters and bright representatives of the new generation:Aleksandr Gorbatov, Vitaliy Kishchenko, Aleksey Vertkov, Kirill Grebentshchikov, Ivan Shanazarov, Oleg Vasilkov, Sergey Dyakov, Darya Ursulyakand others.
The film “Survive on the Ice” is being made with the funds of the Mosfilm film concern – without attracting state budget or sponsorship financing.
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