Was soll'n wir denn machen ohne den Tod

In Frauental, two women, Kathe and Elizabeth, have wonderful, funny conversations and start falling for one another. They are intimately content and are decreasingly influenced by exterior factors. Elizabeth in particular, gives in entirely to Kathe’s love. The film makes you privy to these elderly people’s interior world, makes you listen to them attentively, entirely in the atmosphere they think and feel in.

For a long time, aging seemed to be something that only happened to others. Elfi Mikesch said her film isn’t intended for the elderly, but conversely for younger audiences who can become accustomed to the experiences still awaiting them.

Was soll 'n wir denn machen ohne den Tod was shot like a documentary and finished like a feature film. Weaving fiction and experience, memories and dreams, being old or young and seriousness and humour reveals the multiplicity of the lives of those living and working in Frauental.

The film never uses the terms ‘dementia’ or ‘Alzheimer's’ as these were not part of common parlance in the 1980s. Nevertheless you understand exactly how these mental conditions feel.

This film’s original distributor Feministisch Filmkollektief Cinemienwas ground-breaking when it came to raising the visibility of female filmmakers including those from the Global South.

The film is digitally restored by the Deutsche Kinemathek.