Vladimir Pozner: “In the history of Avangard and the new arena, there really was a drama”

On Thursday, February 23, the premiere of the documentary film Avangard. Return” by Vladimir Pozner – about the construction and opening of the Omsk hockey “G-Drive Arena”. The picture tells in detail about the construction of the ice palace and, in parallel, about Avangard itself, first of all in the 21/22 season and then the long-awaited return to Omsk. Earlier on Posner’s work on this tape, we have already wrote.

After the show, the head of the board of directors of Avangard Alexander Krylov and Vladimir Pozner had a short talk with journalists. The venerable TV journalist explained, among other things, why he was interested in the plot about the arena.

– Have you come to Omsk only once – for filming in October? What are your impressions of him?

– Before that, I came to Omsk once, a long time ago, and I remember that I really didn’t like it then. And after that – yes, in October and now. During the filming, I walked around Omsk a lot and here I really liked it. Of course, the most beautiful of all is the central street – Lenina – with old houses. One of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

So now the attitude is different – I liked it.

– Why did you choose Gritsyuk, Dedunov and Tolchinsky as the main characters from the players?

– In general, I chose two main people – Krylov and Hartley. For me, these are those who played a key role in the construction of the arena and the sporting success of the team. The rest was not my choice. And I think that’s right.

As a result, Krylov continued the answer to this question:

“In any case, the heroes are the team and the fans. Why exactly these players are in the film – in terms of artistry, rather, the ability to express the image of the entire team, its spirit. I really felt it through them. I have no doubt that we made the right choice.”

– Wanna continue the story?

Posner: If there is something loud to continue. Let’s see. But let me remind you that often the continuation is less bright than the beginning.

Krylov: If we achieve even greater success, then maybe …

– Why did you generally take up such a film, what was interesting?

Posner: I was attracted by the story. I have never done anything like this. It’s always interesting to do something new. There really was a drama here: before the start of the season, when the team has a titled foreign coach, it turns out that the arena cannot be used, it is dangerous, and it is not clear what to do. It was very interesting to me. By the way, these shots where the old arena is being demolished are, of course, very dramatic.

– In sports, as we have seen, you are a boxing expert, but how interesting was it to delve into hockey in this case?

PosnerA: To a certain extent. I will not become an expert here, in other sports I know more about them. He himself used to be a fan of hockey in Soviet times for CSKA and, accordingly, the USSR national team. I considered them then the best team of all time. Yes, I still think so.

Krylov: But I will add that after yesterday’s game with Lokomotiv, Vladimir Vladimirovich’s mood improved. The emotions were very strong. And in terms of sports results, and drama.

Posner: The drama was very impressive!

Since February 24, the film “Vanguard. The Return” can also be viewed in the online cinema of the Kinopoisk portal.

Earlier, in 2022, hawks released a movie about winning the championship title in the 2020/21 season.

Also, “MK in Omsk” wrote about how match between Avangard and Lokomotiv.