Red Army

[projekktor id=’17440′]

Red Army is the newest documentary from director Gabe Polsky. The film had its world premiere at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and was an official selection at Telluride, TIFF, and the New York Film Festival.

From Oscar® nominated and Emmy award-winning filmmakers, RED ARMY is a feature documentary about the Soviet Union and the most successful dynasty in sports history: the Red Army hockey team. Told from the perspective of its captain Slava Fetisov, the story portrays his transformation from national hero to political enemy. From the USSR to Russia, the film examines how sport mirrors social and cultural movements and parallels the rise and fall of the Red Army team with the Soviet Union. RED ARMY is an inspiring story about the Cold War played out on the ice rink, and a man who stood up to a powerful system and paved the way for change for generations of Russians.

Polsky has first hand experience with both American and Russian styles of hockey. “I was born and raised in the United States by Soviet immigrants who seldom spoke about their past. I got my first pair of skates at age six, and played competitively throughout my youth, ultimately for Yale University. Training in the U.S. was focused on winning rather than player development. When I was 13, I moved to a team that hired a new coach from the Soviet Union. Like most American kids, all I knew about Soviet hockey was the country’s storied loss to the U.S. in the 1980 Olympics. The coach’s philosophy and training methods were rigorous and unusual: we were forced to walk on our hands and do somersaults on the ice; we carried tires and skated with teammates on our backs. Perhaps the biggest difference was that he encouraged creativity and taught us to think as a unit.”

Red Army is rated PG.