dJune 8 is at the cinema Olga – On the run for the Olympics. Story of a young gymnast forced to leave Ukraine at the time of the Maiden square protests in 2013-14. The film stars Anastasia Budiashkinanon-professional actress who is now in Ukraine under the bombs of the Russian army. Olga it tells of the commitment and sacrifices that bring you to the podium in sport and at the same time the love for the family and one’s land, in the name of which you would like to give up this podium.
Anastasia Budiashkina is a non-professional actress who plays the Ukrainian gymnast Olga, in the film of the same name by Elie Grappe (credit: Press office).
Olga – the plot
The story begins in 2013, when social conflicts are about to explode in Ukraine, which will materialize in the riots in Maidan square, in Kiev. A fifteen-year-old gymnast, daughter of an anti-regime Ukrainian journalist and a Swiss father, she has a dream: to participate in the European championships and the Olympics. To achieve this, she has the opportunity to leave her mother country and train with the Swiss team with which she will compete in the European championships and later the Olympic games.
So she decides to leave alone leaving his mother and friend in Ukraine. While she faces the difficult insertion into the new reality, with a new language and new companions, Olga is in constant contact with her mother, who risks her life every day in Kievand with Sasha, her best friend, who also sided with the protesters of Maidan square
Olga (Anastasia Budiashkina) in the move Jaeger trains for the preparation of the European artistic gymnastics championships (credit: Press office).
Olga is a serious girl, strong and fragile at the same time, who dedicates himself to training with great commitment and passion. She is very worried about the fate of her mother, very busy with her work denouncing corruption and the battles in the streets. From Switzerland, the country where you are training, he sees images of his city devastated by social conflict. She who should be focused only on her training finds herself completely lost in the face of what is happening to her mother and loved ones. As these videos begin to fit into her daily routine as a gymnast, Olga finds herself suspended in a constant state of tension.
The time for the Europeans finally arrives, where she meets Sasha, her lifelong friend who competes with the Ukrainian team. Olga gives her best during the race and brings Switzerland to the podium, but he discovers just before the race that his mother has been seriously injured. In the following days he will have to choose whether to continue his career or return to his country, alongside his people.
Olga: the cast and the words of the director
Anastasia Budiashkina, a non-professional actress enrolled in gymnasiums, plays the role of Olga.. “It’s the emotional key to the whole film,” says director Elie Grappe. “For her role and that of the other gymnasts, I didn’t want to work with professional actors. I rather wanted to try to capture some authenticity and that’s why I chose very young competitive athletes, used to the hardships of training and championship life». Olga and the girl who plays Sasha, Olga’s best friend, are part of the reserves of the Ukrainian team, while the coaches and some of the athletes are members of the Swiss national team.
«The thing I liked most about these girls was their ideal of perfection during training, but also their attitude outside of training: teenagers in a whirlwind of emotions, overwhelmed by conflicting fears and desires. On set, I asked the actors to approach the scenes with their own words, feelings and reactions. I wanted it to become a space where they could feel free to surprise me, to add the most varied facets to the characters I had imagined».
Anastasia Budiashkina (Olga) is not a professional actress, but a real athlete of the Ukrainian artistic gymnastics team (credit: Press office).
Olga is a film about exile, about a young heroine who at a certain point feels she no longer belongs to any homeland, torn between issues of social acclimatization and a political situation much bigger than her that threatens her family. A situation that the film traces with great precision, also thanks to the interpretation of the actresses and the skilful mix of footage and documentary material. The film participated, winning, in the Critique Week of the Cannes Film Festival 2021 and had special mention for Alice in the City 2021.
The story, as already mentioned, is set in 2014, at the time of the first street conflicts in Ukraine. The failure to sign an agreement that would have brought closer contact between the European Union and the former Soviet republic leads to total focus on Kiev. The main roads and the metro are closed, protesters clash with the police. It is impossible, during the film, not to think about what is happening in Ukraine today. To these people and to the actresses of the film themselves. Like Anastasia, who last March took refuge in a basement in Kharkiv to find shelter from Russian bombs.
Anastasia Budiashkina (Olga) and Sabrina Rubtsova (Sasha) in an embrace at the European Championships (credit: Press office).
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