Women in Coal

A film by Petra Cyrus & Meike Materne| mdr | 2023

A life between shift work and everyday family life. What motivated these women to go into mining? How do they cope with the daily challenges? Do they believe the promises made by politicians or will they have to leave Lusatia after all?
Sybille (55) from Spremberg is the shift supervisor on the F60 conveyor bridge, an industrial giant made of steel, over 465 meters long and weighing over 10,000 tons. She still loves working in coal. Christin is only 32, but has already been working in coal for over 16 years. The size of the bucket wheel excavator still fascinates her and she is proud to be able to operate it. Maria has a two-year-old son and yet she has worked shifts as an equipment operator until just a few months ago, when she was elected to the works council. She wants to focus on representing the interests of young mothers in particular. Now Plant 3 at the Jänschwalde power plant is to go back online. This is quite a challenge after four years of standstill. Iris Böhm (36) is the only female double block foreman within the company and is responsible for coordinating the work.