THE MOTION PICTURE
Russia spans 11 time zones from the Baltic Sea in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east and is by far the largest country on earth. A colossal landmass stretching from Europe to Asia, from the Polar Sea, to the palm trees of Sochi. With polar bears in the north, to saiga antelopes in the southern steppes. A diverse landscape from tundra swamps to Europes highest peak, Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus.
Russia from Above is a documentary masterpiece filmed with the most sophisticated aerial cameras in the world using helicopters and the occasional drone footage. A 120-minute continuous flight has captured stunning images across remote and breathtaking Russian landscapes as they have never been seen before.
Russia from Above is the unprecedented endeavour to explore the length and breadth of the largest country on Earth from a bird’s eye view. The aerial cameras have captured a dramatic kaleidoscope of colours as the film takes flight over Russia. From majestic metropoles to the wildlife of the wilderness. The film is a journey across arid deserts and steppes, tundra and taiga, frozen seas, glaciers and snow covered mountains tops.
Russia from Above is guaranteed to surprise from the opening scene on the frozen surface of Lake Baikal, the largest fresh water lake on the planet. To the Mirny diamond mine in Siberia, one of the biggest excavation sites in the world. In the icy waters of the Pacific, Kamchatka surfers ride wave with a spectacular backdrop of active volcanoes. Whilst not far away, brown bears gather along pristine rivers for the start of salmon season.
The people of Russia are as diverse as the landscape. Russia from Above presents stories from every corner of the country and also shows the changing face of country and the effects of climate change.
The sheer remoteness of many of the film locations makes this movie an exciting adventure. A breathtaking flight over a stunning country.
Rated with the educational film credit: ‚Precious‘. Comes in 4K and beautiful Cinemascope format. High Frame Rate in selected cinemas.
Russia from Above is a documentary masterpiece filmed with the most sophisticated aerial cameras in the world using helicopters and the occasional drone footage. A 120-minute continuous flight has captured stunning images across remote and breathtaking Russian landscapes as they have never been seen before.
Russia from Above is the unprecedented endeavour to explore the length and breadth of the largest country on Earth from a bird’s eye view. The aerial cameras have captured a dramatic kaleidoscope of colours as the film takes flight over Russia. From majestic metropoles to the wildlife of the wilderness. The film is a journey across arid deserts and steppes, tundra and taiga, frozen seas, glaciers and snow covered mountains tops.
Russia from Above is guaranteed to surprise from the opening scene on the frozen surface of Lake Baikal, the largest fresh water lake on the planet. To the Mirny diamond mine in Siberia, one of the biggest excavation sites in the world. In the icy waters of the Pacific, Kamchatka surfers ride wave with a spectacular backdrop of active volcanoes. Whilst not far away, brown bears gather along pristine rivers for the start of salmon season.
The people of Russia are as diverse as the landscape. Russia from Above presents stories from every corner of the country and also shows the changing face of country and the effects of climate change.
The sheer remoteness of many of the film locations makes this movie an exciting adventure. A breathtaking flight over a stunning country.
Rated with the educational film credit: ‚Precious‘. Comes in 4K and beautiful Cinemascope format. High Frame Rate in selected cinemas.
Official release: 27th February 2020, throughout Germany in more then 115 movie theaters
A special 93 minutes version of the movie opened Moscow’s International Film-Festival 'Doker‘, attended by an audience of 1,600 in Russia’s largest movie theatre Oktyabr.
At New York Festival © 2019 Russia From Above was honoured with the Gold Medal Award in the category 'Best Feature Documentary‘.
The accompanying pictorial book is published by the prestigious publisher Hoffmann und Campe and is available in bookstores.
The original soundtrack is available on all major download platforms (such as Apple or Amazon) and on Spotify.
FBW - German Film Rating Agency
Rating: Precious
Russia From Above (2020)
Written, directed and produced by
Petra Höfer and Freddie Röckenhaus
Senior Producer: Francesca D’Amicis and Susanne Rostosky
Line Producer: Svenja Mandel
Video Editing: Johannes Fritsche
Aerial Cinematographer: Peter Thompson
Drone Cinematographer: Andrew Efimov, Anton Elchaninov, Ivan Golubkov and Igor Volkov
Production Assistant: Désirée Dolata
Producer: Friederike Schmidt-Vogt
Researcher: Marika Raffa
VFX Artist: Sebastian Salanta
Computer Animations: David Corfield, Liz Elkington, 422 South
German Narration (Cinema): Benjamin Völz
English Narration (Cinema): John Malkovich
Russian Narration (Cinema): Sergey Chonisvili
Music Composer: Boris Salchow
Producer ZDF/ARTE: Marita Hübinger (ARTE), Peter Arens, Friederike Haedecke and Katharina Kohl (ZDF)
A colourFIELD production
In cooperation with ZDF and ARTE
Distributed by