How ‘Up Again’ Director Captured the Rise of a Teenage Figure Skating Champion: ‘The Technical Conditions Were Extremely Challenging’ — SkimNews
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- Up Again had its world premiere at the Ji.hlava docu fest and follows Barbora Vrankova from age 15 to 18 across three years.
- Eliska Cilkova Andrsova directed, edited and scored the documentary; her experience as a competitive skater helped her understand scoring, guide cinematographers and connect with Vrankova.
- Barbora Vrankova trained at a prestigious Italian skating school in Egna and later in the United States, with online lessons, physiotherapy and a strict regimen filling days without time to attend regular school.
- Up Again places cameras on the ice beside Vrankova, following her at “dizzying speeds and arcs,” while blade scrapes, natural sounds and a subtle sound layer convey performance, expectations and judgment.
- Eliska Cilkova Andrsova stopped filming after Vrankova suffered several falls, then resumed coverage after Vrankova said falling was part of skating and asked the team to record everything.
- Barbora Vrankova withdrew from the European Championships, upending production plans and prompting the central question, “Who are we when we are no longer defined by our achievements?”
Why it matters: Three years inside Barbora Vrankova’s training give Ji.hlava docu fest attendees a view of the pressure carried by the champion and her family. Her withdrawal from the European Championships, described by the director as an enormous dream, changes the documentary’s focus from competition results to identity without achievement.
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