Audio News: Having A Fiennes Time

If there’s one place you’d think would be a doddle to film a wintry scene – Russia would be it. Apparently not, though, as cinematic siblings Martha and Ralph Fiennes discovered during a five-day location shoot in chilly St Petersburg for their new film Onegin. Ironically they had to import lorry loads of paper snow which, said Martha, who directs her big brother in the adaptation of Pushkin’s epic poem, might sound ‘absolutely mad’ but is true all the same. ![] The prospect of filming in St Petersburg had made Martha very nervous, she said, particularly after hearing the horror stories of those who had tried before her. ‘Filming in Russia is something of a producer’s nightmare. There is a lot of nail biting before you go in,’ she said. However the reality was far nicer than the expectation, she added, and the cast and crew were well looked after. ‘Onegin’ is Martha’s first feature film as a director - a daunting experience, she said, but having Ralph around helped since the two instinctively understood each other. And Ralph adds they didn’t bicker like children as many people might expect of brother and sister. ![] Onegin is released nationwide on Friday, November 19. ****