The Spirit of Baikal
Short description
A father takes his son on a winter fishing trip to visit his grandfather, hoping to help the boy cope with the death of his mother. While on the ice of Lake Baikal, the family becomes lost during a severe blizzard. They must rely on their love for one another and the mysterious nature of the lake to survive the storm and process their shared grief.
This Russian adventure drama was directed by Mikhail Raskhodnikov, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Alexander Kuzminov and Mose Kurtanidze. This project is the second film in Raskhodnikov's directing career, following Forsaken and preceding Uralochka and Dr. Gough. The production was handled by Russian World Vision, BaikalKino, and Tema Film Company, and the cast features the voice of Diana Ankudinova.
Released in October 2023 with a runtime of 88 minutes, the film received a mixed response from viewers. It holds a rating of 5.3/10 on IMDb based on 3,200 votes.
What's left behind the scenes
- The plot of the film is based on a true story that happened to Mose Kurtanidze in childhood, when he went fishing on Lake Baikal with his grandfather and their car broke down. Left alone on Cape Krestovyi, they walked for several hours through a blizzard towards Mose's father.
- Initially, "Spirit of Baikal" was intended to be an international project. Pierre Richard was considered for the role of the character called "Spirit of Baikal" in the film. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, an American actor of Japanese origin, was originally considered for the role of Bimba's grandfather, which was played by Oleg Babuyev.
- To film the scene with the wolves, the animals were transported with trainers for 9 days from Moscow. The actor wolves had to be protected from larger Baikal relatives that lived near the village.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
