‘Equator’: Russian film captures Kenyan landscapes

A Russian adventure movie ‘Equator’ has been premiered in Moscow. The picture's director Ulyana Shilkina has been known for directing soap operas, and this is her debut full-length feature film shot in Kenya's wildlife sanctuaries.

The main characters of the comedy movie are two Russian soldiers who got their commander’s order to help local residents remove a dead elephant from a village. They need a large tractor to take the carcass away and set off on a long journey around Kenya seeking a suitable vehicle.

The team runs into a lot of funny situations with the indigenous people, wild animals and American soldiers.

“We worked in extreme weather conditions! The temperatures rose up to 60 degrees centigrade. In addition to water we had to consume large amount of special soda that prevented us from dehydrating,” commented Ulyana Shilkina, ‘Equator’ director.

During the two months filming, the crew had to carry all the props and equipment by hand, as driving vehicles is prohibited there.

The production team say that Kenya's nature is the perfect place for filming though they had to live face to face with the wild animals.

Kenya lacks its own filmmaking industry but kindly allows film crews from different countries to shoot their films in the beautiful scenery. A lot of local people act in these films in crowd scenes. The ‘Equator’ movie was not an exception.

The film crew hope that with the help of exotic landscapes and the humorous plot ‘Equator’ will become one of this year's hits.