Directed by student oscar winner German Golub, the film, "Meie Erika," is a pan-Baltic collaboration and will hit the screens in 2026.

It was filmed on location in Tallinn, Tartu County and Ida-Viru County in early summer, moving on to Latvia and Lithuania last month, and has now returned to Estonia.

More specifically, the latest location is the Pirita velodrome, a banked circuit constructed during the Soviet era and in use in Salumäe's time.

The set features numerous retro-style bicycles, actors wearing period sportswear, while red flags adorning the velodrome.

The nostalgic, for some at least, setting is currently being put to use to film the 1986 track cycling world championships, where Salumäe was up against against her main rival, Galina Jenjuhhina of Latvia.

Erika Salumäe herself has given her blessing to the film, and indeed is involved in it, serving as a script doctor.

Directed by German Golub, "Meie Erika" producers are Marju Lepp, Manfred Vainokivi, and Armin Karu.

Lepp recalled meeting Golub during the filming of another movie, noting his potential and diligence.

"We met German during the filming of 'Goodbye, Soviet Union' (2020), where his competence was very obvious."

"We talked to the effect that if he wanted to make his own film later, we would join forces," Lepp recalled.

Golub had initially planned to make a short film about Salumäe, but later realized her story was extensive enough to warrant a full-length feature.

Salumäe's journey to Olympic gold was not an easy one, but according to Lepp, it is an inspiring story. "The movie's goal is primarily to highlight a 'Cinderella' story, one which affirms that no matter who you are, you have options. It should be inspiring to everyone," said Lepp.

The most challenging aspect of making "Meie Erika," according to Lepp, was the technical aspects. "The cameras used for filming track cycling require complex solutions that were tested for a length period time. They have never been used before," Lepp noted.

Actor Karolin Jürise plays Salumäe in the film.

Jürise, who also starred in Helen Takk's film "Elu ja armastus," ("Life and love") thoroughly prepared for the role: She underwent intensive cycle training, consulted with a personal trainer and a nutritionist, read all the biographical books, interviews, and sports reports available about Salumäe, and took Russian language lessons – Russian being the lingua franca of the Soviet Union.

She also took on a new hairstyle, to resemble Salumäe more closely.

Producers Vainokivi and Karu said Jürise has proven herself as the leading lady.

"She is 100 percent Erika," Karu said.

"Karolin wants to do everything herself: Ride, fall," Vainokivi chuckled.

Karu added that Jürise also visited Erika at her home in Spain.

"They got along surprisingly well," Karu noted.

While the leading and other actors do have professional cyclist body doubles, the leads still have significant work to do. They must be resilient, since the doubles are used only in the technically difficult riding scenes. "Naturally we want to protect the actors from harm," noted Lepp.

Every ride thus needs to be filmed multiple times; first with the actors and then with the doubles, to capture multiple camera angles.

Karolin Jürise's body double is Liisi Alamaa, an experienced track and professional road cyclist.

Although Alamaa mainly appears in the longer shots, she wears a face mask modeled on Jürise's visage during filming.

On this, Alamaa said: "Wearing the mask seems worse than it actually is. But the most important thing is to be able to breathe properly during the effort and the ride."

When the mask is on, it stays on all the shooting day, which can last as long as seven hours.

It takes an hour to be affixed to the face.

This means Alamaa has to make do with drinks, smoothies and yoghurts – consuming solid food is not viable.

Makeup artist Iris Müntel described the creation as a combination of two faces. "First, we took imprints of both women's faces. We can't glue a mask indentical to Karolin's face onto Liisi's, as we still need to leave room for the eyes and nose, but the key is to show Karolin's stronger facial feature," Müntel said.

The movie is being made via a collaboration between the three Baltic states, with several important roles played by actors from Latvia and Lithuania as well.

Milena Miškeviča, who plays Salumäe's rival, Galina Jenjukhina, said that she had never heard of Salumäe before, though added older generations in Latvia know the cyclist well.

Miškeviča noted that the biggest challenge in making the film was the training, as every ride must be filmed multiple times.

"The same ride is filmed from different angles, which is very tough," she said.

"At first I was very scared and was shaking after each take. But as of now the situation is better, and I think I will ride my own bike much more after the movie is over," Miškeviča went on.

Rodion Kuzmin, who plays one of Salumäe's coaches, Stanislav Solovjov, began prepping for the role in March.

Kuzmin said he found the story of Salumäe and Solovjov's relationship to be very dramatic, making character preparation challenging.

"The relationship between Erika and Solovjov was very complicated. It's hard to distinguish where the coach ended and the lover began," Kuzmin said, adding that the line Solovjov crossed had played a significant role in their relationship.

"Neither Salumäe nor Solovjov wanted to talk about each other ahead of the film. So I don't exactly reflect Solovjov. The entire relationship is hypothesized, as we don't know exactly what went on," Kuzmin explained.

He added that the director had only three or four photos of Salumäe and her coach together, with which to build the narrative. "If the real Solovjov sees this, he will surely think it's all wrong, but for me, it is not. If they met after this film and could make sense of their story, that would be great,."

"Meie Erika" is to be released in 2026, along with a documentary about Salumäe.

Salumäe, 62, won two cycling olympic gold medals. The first of these came at the 1988 games in Seoul, South Korea, when Estonia was still under Soviet occupation. When she won her next gold at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, Estonia was an independent country. Salumäe also won world championship bronze in 1995.

The Pirita velodrome closed to competition in 2010 as it was adjudged no longer fit for purpose.

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