Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Mosfilm Film Concern – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
December 18, 2025
News editorial office
Production designer Yulia Makushina (pictured) spoke to Mosfilm.ru about the extensive work involved in creating the visual world of Mosfilm's new film, "Survive the Ice." The primary goal was to recreate the spirit of Soviet polar stations, and the greatest challenge was constructing a full-scale set in the Far North, near Murmansk.
A team of artists and set designers is currently preparing to construct a key filming location—the Voskhod station, a prototype for the real-life Soviet and Russian Antarctic station Vostok. Work is underway on several fronts: from historical research to the design of complex structures capable of withstanding the polar winter.
VOSKHOD STATION: AN ARTISTIC IMAGE BASED ON A REAL OBJECT
Yulia Makushina noted that, as the film's production designer, her task was not to replicate one specific station, but to create a comprehensive yet compelling artistic image.
"We're creating this image from various polar stations. We want it to be convincing, but also artistic… It's something unique, a combination of everything there, so it's interesting and compelling on camera," explains Yulia Makushina.
To delve deeper into the subject, archival photographs, documentaries, and materials from the Mosfilm library were studied. The artists consulted with polar explorers who worked in Antarctica in the 1980s. However, as Yulia Makushina notes, some technical details had to be reconstructed from photographs, as even eyewitnesses no longer remember all the nuances.
CONSTRUCTION IN EXTREME CONDITIONS
The most complex and large-scale project is the station's full-scale set, which will begin construction in February next year on the site of a former airfield in the Murmansk region. The location was chosen due to its guaranteed snow cover and relative (by regional standards) protection from the strong winds typical, for example, in Teriberka.
The production designer demonstrated a model of the future set, which will consist of several buildings: service and residential quarters, a building housing diesel generators and a water purification and storage system, warehouses, and so on. The set will not be hollow—the buildings will be constructed from metal structures capable of withstanding Arctic storms. Stuntmen and pyrotechnicians will also be working within them, as one of the film's central scenes involves an extreme situation at the station.
"Of course, this is a professional challenge. Textured and painted work in -30°C temperatures and windy conditions is a serious test for the artists and prop masters who bring our vision to life," says the production designer.
Around 30 people will be involved in construction, with another seven specialists working on the set and props. After filming, the set will likely be dismantled.
In addition to the station, a fleet of unique equipment is being created for the film: · Airplane mockup (built in St. Petersburg) · All-terrain vehicle "Kharkovchanka" (also manufactured in St. Petersburg)
Interior filming will take place on Mosfilm soundstages. The station's living and working modules, including the mess hall, infirmary, and radio room, will be built there. Real Moscow locations have already been selected for other scenes: the interiors of a scientific institute, as well as exteriors and interiors at Moscow's airports.
Thus, viewers of "Survive the Ice" will see not computer graphics, but a completely tangible world, created by the hands of artists, decorators, and builders in conditions close to those in which the film's characters find themselves.
As a reminder, the film "Survival in the Ice" is set in the early 1980s. The film's central characters are the staff of a polar station in Antarctica who find themselves in an extreme situation during one of their wintering trips.
The film's director of photography is Alexander Kuznetsov (White Tiger, Anna Karenina. Vronsky's Story, Gloomy River), the production designer is Yulia Makushina (Decision on Liquidation, GDR, For Us and You), the costume designer is Vladimir Nikiforov (Khitrovka. The Sign of Four, Streltsov, Tobol), the sound engineer is Vitaly Roshchupkin (Khitrovka. The Sign of Four, Vladivostok, Decision on Liquidation), and the makeup artists are Evgeniya Malinovskaya and Mikhail Vigdorov.
The film is being produced by Gopkins Film Production, commissioned by Mosfilm. Producers are Denis Lopatkin and Alexander Perevezentsev, and executive producer is Anatoly Shelyakin.
The film's general producer is Karen Shakhnazarov, a film director and head of the Mosfilm Film Concern, and its deputy general director, Andrey Gushchin, is the producer. The film is being made without any state budget funds or sponsorship.
As a reminder, Mosfilm.ru previously reported on the completion of extensive screen tests for the project "Survive the Ice."
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.