The title of the film, which comes from a German song for children that says ‘goodbye to winter’ while waiting for spring, is a documentary made by Misselwitz interviewing women of varying ages and backgrounds as she rode a train from one end of East Germany to the other less than one year before the Berlin Wall came down.  The film features women ranging from two wild, punk girls who ran away from home to an 83-year-old woman who is celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary talking about the confusion they feel from personal problems and work and their future dreams. When it was released in theaters, the film caused quite a stir by showing a candid portrayal of the actual lives of East German women because it questioned the regime’s very argument that the socialist East Germany achieved an official idea of a woman and gender equality.  In a way, it could be assumed that Misselwitz herself was also expressing sharp criticism about the ironic reality she faced at the socialist film world of DEFA Studio where female directors did not have much of a foothold even though it proclaimed to be equal in all aspects.  

Helke Misselwitz (1947~) Born in Zwickau-Planitz, Germany
Studied film direction at the Academy of Film and Television in Babelsberg from 1978 to 1982.  She applied to DEFA Studio to direct a feature film but was turned down and then made short episodes of a documentary film for the DEFA Studio before working on documentaries from 1988 to 1991.  She became known for After Winter comes Spring,  a documentary about women in the final days of East Germany, and directed her first feature drama film Herzsprung in 1992.  She has been teaching directing in college from 1997.