“La Championne” “Reach for the Sky”

The movie was done originally in Romania and in Romanian and was called “La Championne” or “Campioana.” This version is dubbed over in English and is called “Reach for the Sky”. Stars Izabella Moldolvan as a cute, spirited, young Romanian girl, who wants to be a gymnast.

Plot and Subplots

The main plot of the movie shows the life of a gymnast, a young girl named Corina who is living in a small rural town in Romania. Her greatest dream is to go to Deva to train at the National Gymnastics Training Center in Deva, Romania (made famous by Nadia and Bel Karolyi). Another subplot is the story of the two young gymnasts and friends from, who must both find the determination and strength within themselves to compete in gymnastics. The coaching subplot revolve around questions about coaching styles, discipline and coaches leaving their gymnasts for more money.

Old Gymnastics Family Film

This is an interesting Romanian gymnastics movie, but strangely is classified on many movie sites as a comedy, when it is actually a drama. This is an old movie (1990 – 1991), filmed when the uneven bars were still very close together. This family-oriented movie was the twelfth in the series of videos called Tales for All.

Reach for the Sky – Part 1

Reach for the Sky – Part 2

Reach for the Sky – Part 3

Reach for the Sky – Part 4

Reach for the Sky – Part 5

“La Championne” “Campioana.” “Reach for the Sky”

Also Known As: Tales For All (Part 12)
Genre: Comedy
Running Time: 1 hr. 30 min.
Distributors: Astral Films
Production Company: Productions La Fete, Romaniafilm, Artexfilm
Filming Location: Romania
Produced in: Canada

Cast:

Izabela Moldovan – Corina
Mircea Diaconu – Mitran
Carmen Galin – Lili Oprescu
George Mihaita – Marian
Alina Izvoranu – Maria
Diana Lupescu
Luminita Gheorghiu
Maria Ploae
Ileana Stana Ionescu
Petricia Nicolae
Aurel Giurumia
Dorina Done
Costel Constantin
Dinu Manolache
Marilena Neacsu

Producers:

Rock Demers – Producer
Lorraine Du Hamel- Associate Producer

Original Music:

Doru Caplescu

Cinematography:

Ion Marinescu

Film Editing:

Hélène Girard
Cristina Ionescu

Art Direction:

Dumitru Georgescu

Costume Design:

Carmen Mihaela Trifu