''White Snow'' () is a 2020 Russian

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curric ...

sports drama A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme (arts), theme. It is a production in which a sport or a sports-related topic is prominently featured or is a focus o ...

film directed by

Nikolay Khomeriki Nikolay Khomeriki (born 17 April 1975) is a Russian film director and screenwriter. He has directed six films since 2004. His film ''977 (film), 977'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Three years la ...

. The film is based on events that happened at the 1997

FIS Cross-Country World Cup The FIS Cross-Country World Cup is an annual cross-country skiing competition, arranged by the International Ski Federation (FIS) since 1981. The competition was arranged unofficially between 1973 and 1981, although it received provisional recogn ...

. For the first time in the history of the competition, a skier

Yelena Välbe Yelena Valeryevna Välbe (, née ''Trubitsyna''; born 20 April 1968) is a Russian former cross-country skier. She won a record 14 gold medals (5 in relays) at the FIS World Championships, including all five golds in the 1997 edition. She also w ...

played by Olga Lerman won five out of five gold medals in all events entered. The film theatrically released on March 4, 2021 by KaroRental.

Plot

The film tells about a girl named Lena Trubitsyna from

Magadan Magadan ( rus, Магадан, p=məɡɐˈdan) is a Port of Magadan, port types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative centre of Magadan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the isthmus of the Staritsky Peninsula by the ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, who participates in the World Ski Championships. Returning the awards to Russia, Välbe goes on a tour of Norway. There she learns more about the Norwegian monarchy, as she is interested in the history of the royal family. The king learns about Välbe in Norway and invites her to the royal palace. The conversation is about the merits of skiing. The king is a ski enthusiast and invites Välbe to coach the Norwegian ski team. Välbe suddenly remembers the whole past through a flashback that starts from the very beginning and ends with a momentous day in Trondheim.

Cast

* Olga Lerman as

(also '' tr.'' Elena Vyalbe), a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n cross-country skier ** Angelina Välbe as Yelena 'Lena' Trubitsyna, 8 years old ** Polina Vataga as Yelena 'Lena' Trubitsyna, 14 years old *

Fyodor Dobronravov Fyodor Viktorovich Dobronravov (; born 11 September 1961) is a Soviet and Russian stage and cinema actor, Honored Artist of Russia (2002), People's Artist of Russia (2011).

as Viktor, grandfather *

Nadezhda Markina Nadezhda Konstantinovna Markina (; born 29 January 1959) is a Soviet and Russian actress. She was nominated for the Best Performance by an Actress at the European Film Awards, the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, and the IFFI Best Actor Award (Female ...

as Militsa, grandmother *

Anna Ukolova Anna Viktorovna Ukolova (; born February 15, 1978) is a Russian theater and film actress. Biography Anna Ukolova was born in the village of Sborno-Simonovsky (now Sbornyy), Syzransky District, Samara Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Ru ...

as Yelena's mother *

Aleksandr Ustyugov Aleksandr Sergeevich Ustyugov (; born 17 October 1976) is a Russian actor, film director and musician. He is best known for his role as a main character Roman Shilov for 60 episodes of ''Cop Wars'' (TV mini-series) between 2005 and 2010 ( ru), ...

as Maksimych, instructor * Mikhail Bespalov as Trubitsyn, a taxi driver *

Darya Ekamasova Darya Nikolaevna Ekamasova (; born 20 May 1984) is a Russian theatre and film actress. Her film credits include '' Once Upon a Time There Lived a Simple Woman'' (2011), ''Free Floating'' (2006) and '' Celestial Wives of the Meadow Mari'' (2012). ...

as Irina Makarova * Anna Kotova as

Larisa Lazutina Larisa Yevgenyevna Lazutina (; née Ptitsyna, born 1 June 1965) is a Soviet-Russian former professional cross-country skier. Career Lazutina was awarded the Holmenkollen medal in 1998 (shared with Fred Børre Lundberg, Alexey Prokurorov and ...

* Vadim Andreyev as Petr * Dmitriy Podnozov as Grushin * Aleksander Gorbatov as Yuriy 'Yura' *

Polina Chernyshova Polina Ilinichna Chernyshova (; born 11 October 1993) is a Russian theater and film actress. She is best known for her role in the film '' Furious'' (2017). Early life Polina Chernyshova was born in Moscow, Russia and is the daughter of photo ...

Nina Gavrylyuk Nina Vasilyevna Gavrylyuk (; born 13 April 1965) is a former Soviet (until 1991) and Russian cross-country skier who competed from 1987 to 2003. Born in Leningrad, she won four medals at the Winter Olympics with three golds (4 × 5 km relay: ...

* Ekaterina Ageeva as

Olga Danilova Olga Valeryevna Danilova (Russian: Ольга Валерьевна Данилова; born 10 June 1970 in Bugulma, Tatar ASSR, Russian SFSR) is a Russian cross-country skier who competed from 1991 until she was banned for using performance-enha ...

* Aleksandr Klyukvin as Zharov, a

sports commentator In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...

* Vladimir Kapustin as Voronin * Natalya Tereshkova as

Tamara Tikhonova Tamara Ivanovna Tikhonova (; born 13 June 1964) is a Soviet-Russian former cross-country skier who competed from 1984 to 1992. She represented the Soviet Union at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, where she won three medals with golds in the ...

* Lasse Lindberg as King of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

* Johan Elm as

Urmas Välbe Urmas Välbe (born 8 November 1966 in Antsla) is a former Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Se ...

(also '' tr.'' Urmas Vyalbe) * Stepan Rival as Franz * Artyom Eshkin as Ilya * Mariya Bystrova as

Trude Dybendahl Trude Dybendahl (8 January 1966 – 23 August 2024), sometimes listed as Trude Dybendahl-Hartz or Trude Dybendahl Hartz, was a Norwegian cross-country skier who competed at international top level from 1986 to 1998. She won three silver medals i ...

* Odd Helge Brugrand as Norwegian policeman

Production

The concept of the film is a biopic set in the winter ski mountains of

and

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. The filmmakers presented a film about records in

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

by the Russian athlete

. Since February 1997, at

Granåsen Ski Centre Granåsen Ski Centre (in Norwegian: ''Granåsen skisenter'') is a winter sport venue located in Trondheim, Norway. Granåsen Ski Centre frequently hosts competitions arranged by FIS; Ski jumping World Cup and Continental Cup, Nordic combined W ...

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

, Norway, at the

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1997 The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1997 took place from February 21 to March 2 at Granåsen Ski Centre in Trondheim, Norway. This event was the first time in consecutive championships that the number or type of events did not change since 1966 ...

, a woman won gold in all five cross-country skiing competitions. From the production of the film company EGO Production - ''White Snow'' is a retelling of events, permission for which was given by Vyalbe herself. Today Välbe is the president of the All-Russian public organization "Russian Ski Racing Federation", head of the Russian Ski Sports Association, multiple world and Olympic champion. When ''White Snow'' was in production, Välbe provided support at all stages of filming, including script adjustments and advice to actresses who played challenging roles in real-life skiing conditions.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

began in 2020, the film was shot in the ski mountains of Magadan, Moscow, Russia and

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

, Estonia.

Release

''White Snow'' was the opening film of the 18th international festival " Window to Europe Film Festival". The event took place in December 2020 in the town of

Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...

. In total, the competition program included eleven full-length feature films. The film premiered in Russia on March 4, 2021, the Russian distributor is the film company "KaroRental".

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=14210088 2020 films 2020s Russian films 2020s Russian-language films 2020 biographical drama films 2020s sports drama films Russian biographical drama films Russian sports drama films Films about women's sports Sports drama films based on actual events Biographical films about sportspeople Films directed by Nikolay Khomeriki Films shot in Moscow Films shot in Moscow Oblast Films shot in Russia Films shot in Estonia Russian-language biographical drama films Russian-language sports drama films