In this handout photo released by Roscosmos, Russian actress Yulia Peresild, left, director Klim Shipenko, right, and cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov pose at the Russian launch facility in the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Sept 27, 2021, ahead of their flight to the International Space Station on a Soyuz MS-19 spaceship. (ANDREY SHELEPIN / ROSCOSMOS SPACE AGENCY VIA AP)

MOSCOW - A Russian crew of two cosmonauts, a movie director and an actress on Tuesday docked at the International Space Station to start a 12-day mission to shoot the first movie in space.

A Soyuz spacecraft carrying actress Yulia Peresild, director Klim Shipenko and cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov docked at the ISS behind schedule at 1222 GMT after switching to manual control.

The Russian movie titled The Challenge focuses on a story of a doctor, portrayed by actress Yulia Peresild, who is asked to travel to the space station to save a cosmonaut's life

Russian state media have been providing blanket and patriotic coverage of the event in the run-up, with a countdown clock running on Channel One and news anchors framing the development as a significant breakthrough by Russia that the rest of the world is watching closely.

ALSO READ: Russia picks cast for movie to be shot in space

The 12-day Russian mission follows the launch of the first all-civilian crew aboard a rocket and capsule developed by SpaceX, which was founded by businessman Elon Musk.

The Russian mission is designed to get in first before a Hollywood project announced earlier this year by actor Tom Cruise together with NASA and SpaceX.

This handout photo taken and released on Oct 5, 2021 by the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos shows a Russian Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft blasting off to the International Space Station from the launch pad at the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (ROSCOSMOS / AFP)

Russia, first as the Soviet Union, and the United States have competed fiercely to reach various space exploration milestones: Russia launched the first satellite and put the first man and woman in space, but NASA beat it to the Moon landing.

The Russian movie titled The Challenge focuses on a story of a doctor, portrayed by actress Yulia Peresild, who is asked to travel to the space station to save a cosmonaut's life. 

Cosmonaut crew members are also set to appear in the film.

READ MORE: Star Trek's 'Captain Kirk' to fly to space on Blue Origin rocket

Director Klim Shipenko, whose height of 1.9 meters makes the flight in a small capsule especially challenging, has already said he was looking forward to a Mars-based sequel.In this handout photo released by Roscosmos, Russian actress Yulia Peresild, left, director Klim Shipenko, right, and cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov pose at the Russian launch facility in the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Sept 27, 2021, ahead of their flight to the International Space Station on a Soyuz MS-19 spaceship. (PHOTO / ROSCOSMOS SPACE AGENCY VIA AP)

Reflecting the Soviet roots of Russia's space industry, the crew will be launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in the steppes of Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia. Russia leases the cosmodrome.

Russia's own, newer Vostochny cosmodrome is years away from serving manned aircraft, officials say.

With inputs from Agencies