Padelmania:

phenomenon and trend

scroll

The documentary story of the fastest-growing sport of our time.

Client

VK Video

Genre

Documentary Film

Year

2025

Segment

Sports

about project

Padel is taking the world by storm, and Russia is no exception. In just a few years, it has evolved from an exotic pastime into a mainstream, trendy sport played by celebrities and backed by millions in investment. Today, it rivals tennis for the title of the leading racket discipline. But what lies behind this phenomenon, and what does the future hold for padel?

about project

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Padel is taking the world by storm, and Russia is no exception. In just a few years, it has evolved from an exotic pastime into a mainstream, trendy sport played by celebrities and backed by millions in investment. Today, it rivals tennis for the title of the leading racket discipline. But what lies behind this phenomenon, and what does the future hold for padel?

Tasks

To explain padel and to introduce viewers to the key figures of this new sporting discipline.

Approach to production

Co-production with Stereotactic studio, filming across 9 padel clubs in Russia and Kazakhstan, coverage of FIP and RPF competitions.

IMPLEMENTATION

The film is built on interviews with padel players, experts, bloggers, ambassadors, and the visionaries who pioneered padel in Russia. The cast includes Alexander Khalanskii, Vilena Petrova, Vlada Kutuzova, Daria Ovsiannikova, Christian Tarruella, Alexey Sorokin, Saveliy Tulupov, Alexander Pisarev, Alexey Mikhailov, and Artem Shcherbachenko. To capture the immersion and dynamism of the game, we used the Freefly Ember S5K super slow-motion camera, FPV drone, and various specialized camera rigs. AI played a significant role in production: from upscaling archival footage from the 90s to deblurring and lip-syncing. The film features a Full-CGI intro sequence.

Direct speech

«It’s 4 AM right now, and we’re filming an interview at ’Kapitoly’ simply because every other court in Moscow is fully booked. There was absolutely no other slot available to set up all our equipment and lighting to tell the story of padel in Russia,» — Artem Shcherbachenko, padel expert and film’s narrator.

Награды
и пресса

Direct speech

«It’s 4 AM right now, and we’re filming an interview at ’Kapitoly’ simply because every other court in Moscow is fully booked. There was absolutely no other slot available to set up all our equipment and lighting to tell the story of padel in Russia,» — Artem Shcherbachenko, padel expert and film’s narrator.

Team

Aleksandr Kuzmichev
^Director
‍Kirill Sorokin
^{Creative producer
‍}Kamil Asadulin
^Writer
‍Masha Cheremushkina
^{Executive producer
‍}Trofim Ovchinnikov
^{Line producer
‍}Slava Kotov
^DOP
‍Nikita Scherbakov
^{Sound director}

Andrei Smirnov
^{Camera operator
‍}Shamkhal Eyvazov^{Drone pilot
‍}Konstantin Arutyunov, Timofey Fatkin,
Dmitry Parfenopulo,
Stanislav Gerasimov
^Gaffers
‍Ilya Novik,
Kirill Kremlev,
Filipp Popov,
George Parfenopulo, Maxim Vopsev,
Denis Avvakumov
^Lighters

Yaroslav Naumov, Egor Chestnikov
^{1st AC}

Evgeny Bronnikov
^{Film editor
‍}Constantine Chistiakov
^Music
‍Andrei Provotorov
^Colorist
‍Valentin Shmayunov
^{VFX & Motion designer
‍}Viktor Kopeykin
^{Full CGI intro
‍}Daria Anisimova
^Designer
‍Marina Sonova
^{Archivist
‍}Mikhail Matveev
^Trailer

Team

Aleksandr Kuzmichev
^Director
‍Kirill Sorokin
^{Creative producer
‍}Kamil Asadulin
^Writer
‍Masha Cheremushkina
^{Executive producer
‍}Trofim Ovchinnikov
^{Line producer
‍}Slava Kotov
^DOP
‍Nikita Scherbakov
^{Sound director}

Andrei Smirnov
^{Camera operator
‍}Shamkhal Eyvazov^{Drone pilot
‍}Konstantin Arutyunov, Timofey Fatkin,
Dmitry Parfenopulo,
Stanislav Gerasimov
^Gaffers
‍Ilya Novik,
Kirill Kremlev,
Filipp Popov,
George Parfenopulo, Maxim Vopsev,
Denis Avvakumov
^Lighters

Yaroslav Naumov, Egor Chestnikov
^{1st AC}

Evgeny Bronnikov
^{Film editor
‍}Constantine Chistiakov
^Music
‍Andrei Provotorov
^Colorist
‍Valentin Shmayunov
^{VFX & Motion designer
‍}Viktor Kopeykin
^{Full CGI intro
‍}Daria Anisimova
^Designer
‍Marina Sonova
^{Archivist
‍}Mikhail Matveev
^Trailer