Klim Shipenko

Klim Alekseevich Shipenko (Russian: Клим Алексеевич Шипенко; born 16 June 1983; Moscow) is a Russian film director, screenwriter, cinematographer, actor, producer and cosmonaut. Two-time winner of the Golden Eagle Award in the category "Best Feature Film" (for "Salyut-7" in 2018 and for "Text" in 2020). The director of Son of a Rich - one of the highest-grossing films in Russia and the CIS (more than 3 billion rubles box office receipts).

In 2021, he became a participant in a space flight within the framework of the scientific and educational project "Challenge". It is the first feature-length fiction film to be filmed in space by professional film-makers. His father is actor, director, playwright Alexey Shipenko. Shipenko was born in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia).

In 2002 he entered the California State University at Northridge (Film Production Department). He worked as an intern on the set of the film Something's Gotta Give by Nancy Meyers. Filmed the diploma film as a cameraman. Studied at the Sal Dano Professional Actors Workshop. In 2004 he returned to Moscow. For a short time he worked on Channel One, was the director of the Plantain program about cars.

In 2021, Shipenko shot portions of a science fiction film aboard the International Space Station. It is to be the second narrative feature-length fiction film shot (partially) in space (after Return from Orbit), and it is the first feature-length fiction film to be filmed in space by professional film-makers. The project is tentatively called The Challenge (2023), and was shot between the launch of Soyuz MS-19 and return of Soyuz MS-18.

The first narrative film filmed fully (the narrative film Return from Orbit had some scenes filmed in space) in outer space was a short film titled Apogee of Fear, shot in 2008. The Challenge was in a race with Tom Cruise and Doug Liman to shoot the first narrative feature film in space. On the ISS Shipenko was in charge of camera, lighting, sound recording and makeup.

The acting was done by actress Yulia Peresild. The filming equipment was launched at Progress MS-17 and returned on Soyuz MS-18. Pyotr Dubrov and Mark Vande Hei helped with filming.