Champion of the World (2021 film)
Champion of the World (Russian: Чемпион мира) is a 2021 Russian sports drama film written and directed by Aleksey Sidorov.[1] The film tells the story of the rivalry between the Soviet Union's venerable sports artist, chess player Anatoly Karpov, who is competing against Viktor Korchnoi for the title of World Chess Championship.
| Champion of the World | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Aleksey Sidorov |
| Written by | Aleksey Sidorov |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Mikhail Milashin |
| Music by | Artyom Vasilev (ru) |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | Central Partnership |
Release date |
|
Running time | 121 minutes |
| Country | Russia |
| Language | Russian |
| Budget | ₽550 million |
It is scheduled to be theatrically released on December 30, 2021 by Central Partnership.
Plot
The film tells about the famous world chess championship in 1978, against the background of which the chess player Anatoly Karpov loses his family, faces the betrayal and intrigues of the CIA, as well as pressure from the party.[2]
Cast
- Ivan Yankovsky as Anatoly Karpov
- Konstantin Khabensky as Viktor Korchnoi
- Vladimir Vdovichenkov
- Viktor Dobronravov
- Viktor Sukhorukov
- Diana Pozharskaya
Other cast
- Anatoly Kot
- Arseny Topolaga as Pavel
- Alyona Kim as Marisol
- Dmitry Miller
- Igor Zakharov as Grigory Naumovich
- David Brodsky as Boris Zelenin
- Anton Konovalov as Chess player
- Sergey Shokolov as Brezhnev's assistant
- Zurab Miminoshvili as Alexander Guladze
- Josefin Asplund
- Mark Noble as Schmid
- Peter Seaton-Clark as Godfrey
Production
In 2019, the film was included in the list of 14 film projects that will receive financial support from the Cinema Foundation.
Filming
Principal photography began in July 2020 and lasted until March 2021, taking place in Spain, The Netherlands, Thailand, The Philippines, and Moscow, Russia.[3][4]