A biographical sports drama about skier Yelena Vyalbe, who became an Olympic champion and for the first time in history won 5 out of 5 gold medals at the 1997 World Championships in Trondheim, Norway. The main filming took place in Magadan, Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Estonia, Norway, and Kirovsk in Murmansk Oblast. Many scenes were filmed in Magadan, as that is where the great athlete's childhood took place. The film crew found the exact locations where Yelena was in real life.

Filming Locations:

Ski Track

In the Movie

The scene where it is winter outside, snow lies outside the window, which means our little heroine has already quickly put on her skis and gone to train. Dressed in an ordinary coat, hat, and simple skis, she confidently cuts through the morning snow.

In Reality

The scene was filmed at Gorokhovoye Pole in Magadan. This place on the outskirts of the city long served as a ski track for residents of Magadan and, unfortunately, recently ceased operations. Now there are many five-story buildings around the field.

Yelena's House

In the Movie

The scene where Yelena returns home from the airport. She is given a ride by a cheerful and talkative taxi driver. He also helps to take the heavy ski equipment out of the car and asks the girl's name, but his question goes unanswered.

In Reality

The scene was filmed at a house in the Novaya Vesyolaya area, Magadan. The filmmakers wanted to find a building as close as possible to the skier's real home. The difficulty was that the building had to have a collapsing wall, while simultaneously opening up a beautiful view of the surroundings.

World Championships in Trondheim

In the Movie

The scene where Yelena participates in the legendary 1997 World Championships in the Norwegian city of Trondheim. Intense competition, incredible willpower, and athletic preparation led our skier to victory. Rejoicing, the roar of the crowd – all of this is justified, we won!

In Reality

The scene was filmed in the city of Kirovsk, Murmansk Oblast. “We carefully watched many hours of races in Trondheim 1997, selecting, looking, thinking about where to film,” shares Sergey Gudilin. “In Murmansk Oblast, I looked at many ski tracks in Kandalaksha, Monchegorsk, and Kirovsk. And we realized that the track of the Tirvas sports complex in Kirovsk is very similar to the Trondheim one: both the location and the stadium. And we recreated it! There were half a kilometer of banners alone. Moreover, in 1997 Trondheim celebrated its 1000th anniversary, so there was a lot of symbolism, which was also recreated.”