Documentary: Drift: Racing Without Limits

Drift:

racing without limits

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An inspiring story of a racer with [un]limited abilities.

Client

VK Video

Genre

Documentary film

Year

2024

Segment

Motorsports

about project

A gripping sports documentary follows the journey of Tikhon Polesskiy, a three-time world champion in sim racing. For Tikhon, who lives with physical limitations, real-world drifting seemed like an unattainable dream. But through relentless determination and the unwavering support of friends, everything changed. Now, he competes alongside Russia’s best drifters, shares his expertise, and helps his students become champions. Tikhon’s story is a testament that there are no limits for those who truly strive to win.

about project

+

A gripping sports documentary follows the journey of Tikhon Polesskiy, a three-time world champion in sim racing. For Tikhon, who lives with physical limitations, real-world drifting seemed like an unattainable dream. But through relentless determination and the unwavering support of friends, everything changed. Now, he competes alongside Russia’s best drifters, shares his expertise, and helps his students become champions. Tikhon’s story is a testament that there are no limits for those who truly strive to win.

Tasks

Captivate a wide audience by highlighting an inspiring story of racer Tikhon Polesskiy and shining a spotlight on motorsports.

Approach to production

Co-production with Stereotactic studio, exclusive interview with the main character and his family, previously unpublished archives.

IMPLEMENTATION

The production of the motorsport doc took six months — from the creation of the idea to the release on VK of the Video. Thanks to the expertise of director Alexander Kuzmichev and the well-coordinated work of Stereotactic and 29, a story has been developed that combines sports drama and an important inclusive theme. In addition to the main character Tikhon Polessky, the leading figures of Russian drift took part in the project: Arkady Tsaregradtsev, Dmitry Dobrovolsky, Anton Kozlov and Alexey Milovidov. The fact of the first video interview in Tikhon’s career added exclusivity and weight to the film. The unique POV shots were captured from a camera attached to the helmet’s visor, which the operator controlled remotely. This made it possible to create a presence effect, thanks to which the viewer feels like driving the main character’s car during the competition. To create the film, the team collected a variety of archival materials: footage from sports broadcasts, video recordings from mobile phones, digitized VHS and photographs from the 90s from Tikhon’s family archive.

Direct speech

«Piecing together a film from such diverse materials is always a challenge, but it’s incredibly rewarding. In addition to our own footage, we worked with archives of various formats — from old VHS recordings to modern digital content and reconstructed events and virtual races to weave them into a cohesive narrative.
It was crucial to make the story accessible and engaging for viewers unfamiliar with motorsports. The biggest challenge, however, was preserving the emotional integrity of the film, ensuring that the audience could feel the connection between past and present, the virtual and the real. Projects like this prove that editing is truly the art of storytelling», — Evgeny Bronnikov, director of editing.

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Награды
и пресса

Finalist

SBK 2025

Released on VK Video

Okkolokino

A story of overcoming, speed and inclusiveness

Featured

The Creators Cut

Direct speech

«Piecing together a film from such diverse materials is always a challenge, but it’s incredibly rewarding. In addition to our own footage, we worked with archives of various formats — from old VHS recordings to modern digital content and reconstructed events and virtual races to weave them into a cohesive narrative.
It was crucial to make the story accessible and engaging for viewers unfamiliar with motorsports. The biggest challenge, however, was preserving the emotional integrity of the film, ensuring that the audience could feel the connection between past and present, the virtual and the real. Projects like this prove that editing is truly the art of storytelling», — Evgeny Bronnikov, director of editing.

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Team

Aleksandr Kuzmichev
^Director
‍Kirill Sorokin
^{Creative producer
‍}Aleksey Shevchenko
^{Executive producer
‍}Masha Cheremushkina
^{Line producer}

Slava Kotov
^{Director of photography
‍}Nikita Shcherbakov
^{Sound director
‍}Andrei Smirnov, Andrei Belov
^{Camera operators
‍}Mikhail Matveev
^{Action cameras operator
‍}Vadim Plastinin, Vadim Tereh
^Gaffers
‍Nadezhda Mashkey
^MUAH

Evgeny Bronnikov
^{Film editor
‍}Constantine Chistiakov
^Composer
‍Andrei Provotorov
^Colorist
‍Valentin Shmayunov
^{CG & VFX movie
‍}Jelezonah
^{Full CGI intro
‍}Daria Anisimova
^{Graphic Designer}

Team

Aleksandr Kuzmichev
^Director
‍Kirill Sorokin
^{Creative producer
‍}Aleksey Shevchenko
^{Executive producer
‍}Masha Cheremushkina
^{Line producer}

Slava Kotov
^{Director of photography
‍}Nikita Shcherbakov
^{Sound director
‍}Andrei Smirnov, Andrei Belov
^{Camera operators
‍}Mikhail Matveev
^{Action cameras operator
‍}Vadim Plastinin, Vadim Tereh
^Gaffers
‍Nadezhda Mashkey
^MUAH

Evgeny Bronnikov
^{Film editor
‍}Constantine Chistiakov
^Composer
‍Andrei Provotorov
^Colorist
‍Valentin Shmayunov
^{CG & VFX movie
‍}Jelezonah
^{Full CGI intro
‍}Daria Anisimova
^{Graphic Designer}