Vladimir Putin celebrates Russia’s cinematic achievement that surpasses Tom Cruise’s Hollywood space project.

The first-ever feature film shot in space has officially premiered in Russian cinemas, with Moscow proudly claiming victory over a competing Hollywood project. The Challenge, a film about a surgeon dispatched to the International Space Station (ISS) to save an injured cosmonaut, was completed after a 12-day mission in October 2021, where both an actor and a director filmed scenes aboard the orbiting laboratory.

This cinematic milestone comes as a significant achievement for Russia, especially as it surpassed the Hollywood project backed by Tom Cruise, NASA, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which was announced in 2020.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the success, stating, “We are the first to have shot a feature film in orbit, aboard a spacecraft. Once again, the first,” underscoring the historical significance of the event. The Soviet Union’s legacy in space exploration adds a layer of pride to this accomplishment, marking another first for Russia’s space industry after enduring several challenges, including failed missions.

In The Challenge, actress Yulia Peresild, 38, plays a surgeon tasked with rescuing a cosmonaut who is injured during a spacewalk, blending the intrigue of space exploration with the drama of a life-or-death mission in orbit.