Riina Hein was born and raised in Tallinn and spent her summers with her paternal grandparents in the rural village of Järvakandi.

After production of the film ended, Hein returned to finish her studies at Tallinn 42nd Secondary School (now Kadriorg German Gymnasium).

[4] Hein would revisit the role of Raja Teele in three more films: 1976's Suvi (Summer) and 1990's Sügis (Fall), both again directed by Arvo Kruusement and based on the trilogy of novels penned by Oscar Luts of the same names which followed the lives of residents of the rural, fictitious village of Paunvere in the late 19th-century.

In 2020, she reprised the role for the Ergo Kuld directed Talve (Winter), screenwritten by Martin Algus and posthumously attributed to Luts, but unproven.

[1] In 1986, she began working as an editor, director, and producer at Eesti Reklaamfilm, leaving in 1991 to establish Creare Stuudio OÜ, where she works as manager, director, screenwriter, and producer of commissioned films, television programmes and documentaries, including the 2005 documentary Minu Eestimaa.