The team behind the historical racing drama Battle of Motors have detailed the immense operational challenges they overcame to bring early Russian motorsport to cinemas. The feature film, currently in its third week in cinema distribution, chronicles the true story of early-twentieth-century visionaries who constructed a domestic automobile and drove it from Saint Petersburg to Monaco.
Speaking during an interview at the Lotte Hotel in Moscow, where a garden sits on the fourth floor and room rates start at 42,000 rubles, the production team discussed their work following a positive review by sports website Championat. Lead actors Ivan Yankovsky and Paulina Andreeva joined director Ilya Malanin and producer Pyotr Anurov to reflect on online criticism, hazardous filming conditions, on-screen chemistry and their personal training routines.
Themes of Friendship and Shared Ambition
Malanin and Anurov previously collaborated on the drama Unnormal, which explored the idea that being different is normal. Discussing the core message of Battle of Motors, Malanin explained that while the project initially centered on overcoming obstacles on a long road toward a dream, he had come to see friendship as its true foundation. He stated that no one completes a journey toward a global goal alone, noting that genuine bonds forged during extreme circumstances endure for life, even if collaborators do not speak for years afterward.
Malanin described the finished project as a successful buddy movie, adding that he was particularly proud of the on-screen partnership between Yankovsky and fellow actor Yura. He said their portrayal of historical racers Andrey Nagel and Bondarev captured the essential human dynamic of the story, which pleased him even more than positive feedback regarding the racing scenes and entertainment value.
Anurov echoed those thoughts, citing words by Yoko Ono that when a person dreams alone it is only a dream, but when people dream together it becomes reality. He dedicated the production to great dreamers of the past and present, admitting that when Malanin first brought him the pitch, the team had no clear solutions. They had no cars, no experience staging vehicle races, uncast lead roles and no plan for recreating foreign locations across Monaco, France and Germany.
Through collective persistence, the production team built operational period vehicles, secured their leading cast, and arranged shooting locations in Montenegro and Serbia while managing complex international border crossings.
Early Russian Motoring and Historical Figures
Yankovsky noted that figures of Nagel's vision are exceedingly rare in modern life. While technological progress now delivers new smartphones and computers every year, pioneering automobile manufacturing across Russia represented a monumental struggle. He recalled how authorities at the time viewed motorcars as an evil or demonic distraction, meaning that promoting the vehicle required tremendous patience and energy.
Nagel had served as the editor and chief ideologue of Automobile magazine, closely tracking international industry developments while dreaming of domestic production. Andreeva added that pursuing an idea of that scale required extraordinary mental courage, genuine belief and exceptional luck.
Reflecting on their on-screen rapport, Yankovsky explained that their long-standing personal acquaintance made creating warmth between their characters straightforward, despite having limited scenes together. He emphasized that film and theater remain collective crafts that cannot be built in isolation, adding that he was flattered that their partnership resonated with audiences.
Andreeva admitted that their first shooting shift at the Grand Hotel Europe felt terrifying. Walking into a grand restaurant set filled with extras in period costume under blinding lights, she felt immense pressure to ensure her performance justified the enormous budget, the scale of the staging and the work of the entire crew. She noted that the initial anxiety lifted as the shoot progressed, supported by the warm atmosphere maintained on set.
Yankovsky praised the craftsmanship of the wider crew, highlighting the professional work carried out across the costume, art direction, camera and set-building departments.
Sudden Snow and Torrential Downpours
Malanin described the intense demands placed on the director during production, noting that the central racing sequence required five months of preparatory work. The process involved detailed script breakdowns, stunt consultations, dramatic staging and a complete 3D animated pre-visualization to ensure the complex action worked within a tight production window.
When the crew arrived on location in early May to film the race, they discovered that unseasonal snow covered the ground. To keep to the production schedule, the team melted the snow and deployed fire engines to wash winter residue out of camera backgrounds before shooting could begin.
The weather deteriorated further the following day, when a torrential downpour flooded the set just as the principal actors and 400 extras gathered to continue the sequence. With only five production days allocated for the entire race, delaying the shoot was impossible. Malanin realized that the previous day's footage no longer matched his five-month plan, forcing him to devise a completely new operational strategy within 40 minutes on his sole authority. He later joked that the cinema god had forced them to suffer so that the final result would surpass their original expectations.
Building Historic Cars from Scratch
Anurov stated that his operating principle on any major project is never to surrender once committed. He pointed to previous complex shoots, recalling how his team had to solve the problem of filming unfrozen Saint Petersburg canals for The Silver Skates, and how they had to write nine original songs from scratch and teach non-singing actors to perform musical routines for Prophet.
For Battle of Motors, the most daunting technical obstacle was fabricating functioning period race cars. Because original vehicles had vanished, with only a single surviving museum piece preserved at the Polytechnic Museum in Moscow, the production had almost no technical blueprints. Specialists were hired to design and construct race-ready vehicles within six months that the actors could drive themselves.
Anurov also described the delicate balance required to manage big-budget filmmaking without falling into debt. He explained that producers must weigh costs continuously, choosing to expand crowds from 30 to 100 extras to preserve visual realism while cutting expensive 30-second scenes that add nothing to the central narrative.
Unseen Period Details and Review Culture
Malanin highlighted numerous hidden design choices that were intentionally kept subtle so that audiences could immerse themselves in the historical era. The art department spent weeks testing custom wallpaper shades and camera lenses for Nagel's living room, while car bodies were repainted multiple times to achieve the correct period finish.
Discussing audience reception, Malanin acknowledged that critical feedback can be painful when viewers interpret a film differently than intended, but said he accepted that broad mainstream projects naturally invite varied opinions as their audience expands. He expressed hope that negative reviews would remain in the minority.
Anurov said he actively reads public reactions to analyze viewer tastes, noting that criticism can be difficult to read. However, he dismissed baseless negativity, specifically citing dismissive comments urging people to wait for YouTube reviews by BadComedian, as well as knee-jerk online attacks directed at Russian cinema in general.
Training Routines and Future Projects
Outside of cinema, the cast members discussed their physical fitness routines. Yankovsky said he frequently reads Championat, plays tennis and lifts weights in the gym. He added that he is currently losing weight after facing criticism in other film roles for carrying too much muscle mass.
Andreeva said athletic training forms an essential part of her daily life, focusing on running, cardiovascular exercises and weight training. Yankovsky revealed that the pair had already wrapped filming on another yet-to-be-released project, during which Andreeva utilized her background in Muay Thai to playfully attack him with low kicks and elbow strikes on set, joking that she is terrifying in real life.
The interview concluded with lighthearted banter between the co-stars, while Anurov and Malanin remained eager to continue discussing the demanding craft of historical filmmaking.
