Our Erika

This is a drama of a personal triumph over seemingly unsurmountable odds. Our Erika is the story of the track cyclist Erika Salumäe, from her painful and tortured childhood to her first Olympic win in 1988.

Erika is a highly focused and defiant fighter who wants to be the best bicycle racer in the world, driven by her subconscious need and desire to be loved.

USSR is like a worn-out fairy tale where Erika as a young woman tries to survive.

In this declining regime, under psychological and physical pressure, Erika transforms from a girl into an Olympic champion.

Erika realises quite quickly that success brings recognition but does success really bring the desired love?
Will you be loved only if you produce visible results?

In 1988, at the Town Hall square, Erika Salumäe was received as a national hero – 'our Erika'.

Director's note:

Our Erika is the story of the track cyclist Erika Salumäe, from her tortured childhood to her first Olympic win in 1988. Erika is a highly focused and defiant fighter who wants to be the best bicycle racer in the world, driven by her subconscious need and desire to be loved. For her, the USSR is like a worn-out fairy tale where she tries to survive and erase the childhood of suffering and neglect as a young woman. As a director, I want to show how Erika fights for her freedom from pain and insignificance guided by her subconscious conviction that she deserves to be loved like everyone else.

Director's bio:

German Golub (1993) graduated cum laude from the Film Arts course of Tallinn University Baltic Film, Media, and Arts School. His graduation short My Dear Corpses won the Student Academy Award in 2020. Our Erika is his feature debut.

Producer's bio:

Marju Lepp has acted as a producer at Filmivabrik since 1998. Over the past decade, she has produced 21 documentaries and five feature films, the latest among them On the Water (feature, 2020) and The Best of Salieri (documentary, 2021). Our films have screened at A-category film festivals such as IDFA in Amsterdam, Leipzig, Montreal, Mumbai, Cairo etc. Marju is currently producing the feature film Stairway to Heaven and the documentary The Cartoonist.

Company profile:

Studio Filmivabrik was established in 1998. Filmivabrik has produced 23 documentaries – both experimental as well as more traditional films. Our documentaries have been screened in competition at Leipzig DoK and IDFA and earned best documentary titles at home in Estonia. Filmivabrik has also produced five feature films, TV-shows, short films, and an animation film. Our features and animation screened at different A-category film festivals. Filmivabrik has also produced numerous commercials and rents out professional film lighting.