How ‘Up Again’ Director Captured the Rise of a Teenage Figure Skating Champion: ‘The Technical Conditions Were Extremely Challenging’
Czech documentary *Up Again* follows figure skater Barbora Vrankova’s rise from national champion at 15 as she pursues elite training abroad. Director Eliska Cilkova Andrsova filmed her over three years, showing the personal and family pressures behind a career in which brief performances require years of discipline.
Andrsova’s own competitive skating experience helped her understand the sport and film Vrankova closely, including skating alongside her on the ice. Filming was difficult: training rinks were often closed to outsiders, and crowded sessions, loud music and coaches’ shouts made recording challenging. The film uses skate sounds and other rink noises to suggest Vrankova’s inner world.
In short
- *Up Again* documents Barbora Vrankova’s teenage rise in figure skating.
- Director Eliska Cilkova Andrsova filmed her from age 15 to 18.
- Rink sounds help convey the pressure behind elite training.
Explained simply
Figure skating combines athletic skill with choreographed movement on ice, and competitors train for years to perform routines that last only a few minutes. Young skaters often travel away from home to train at specialist centres, making sport a major part of life for them and their families.
Barbora Vrankova is a Czech skater who became a national champion at 15. The documentary Up Again follows her training abroad and the pressures surrounding her pursuit of a high-level skating career; its director, Eliska Cilkova Andrsova, drew on her own experience as a competitive skater to film the sport.
Art Celebrity Culture Entertainment Film