Russian film crew returns to Earth in Soyuz capsule

Actress Yulia Peresild, producer-director Klim Shipenko and cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy touched down on Earth at 0435GMT in the Kazakhstan steppe.

Over 12 days in space, Peresild and Shipenko filmed scenes for their movie "the Challenge" in which Peresild plays a doctor, who travels to the space station to save a cosmonaut's life.

The project has Russia beating the U.S. in the latest chapter in the space race - movie making.

Last year, NASA announced plans for Hollywood star Tom Cruise to blast off on a SpaceX rocket for a yet-to-be-named film.