We Did What Had to Be Done

We Did What Had to Be Done is a documentary about the role that women played in the Northern Irish Troubles. “We did what had to be done” is a phrase nearly all interview partners used to describe their involvement. Depending on their political affiliation, however, they meant very different things: to work in a British Army store, to break out of the women’s prison in Armagh, to transport bombs or to educate their children to become Republican fighters or British soldiers… Unlike their male combatants, they are rarely mentioned in the history books or in the wartime narrative. This documentary seeks to tell their stories.

Director's Biography
Friederike Berat and Ulrike Ertl
Friederike Berat, born in Berlin in 1971, is a curator and filmmaker in Berlin. She studied directing at the film school ETTIC Paris, and makes documentary films and video installations. Ulrike Ertl, born in Baden near Vienna in 1971, is radio host, author, musician and performer in Berlin. She studied performing arts with Marina Abramovic and is a member of the feminist radio collective SissiFM/RadioF*.

Film Selection: We Did What Had to Be Done (2018, doc, Berat & Ertl) - Mach's einfach (2017, mid-length doc, Berat & Ertl) - Die Schrippenkirche (2006, mid-length doc, Berat) - Friedrichshain - 10 Jahre Sanierung (2004, mid-length doc, Berat)
Competition Documentary 2019
Friederike Berat, Ulrike Ertl
Germany 2018
color
90 minutes
English
OV with English subtitles
Cinematography Alison Miller, Friederike Berat
Editing Friederike Berat
Sound/Sounddesign Ulrike Ertl
With Evelyn B., Veronica, Debbie, Beryl, Emma, Sharon, Susie, Kathe, Nuala, Evelyn G., Jacqueline, Janice, Jo-Anne, Marie, Eva
Producer(s) Ulrike Ertl, Friederike Berat, Friederike Lorenz, Nadine Coquemer, Frank Thiele
World Sales
sixpackfilm
Austrian Rights
sixpackfilm
World Premiere
Crossing Europe 2019
Austrian Rights
sixpackfilm

Premierenstatus / Premiere Status
World Premiere