County Durham, during the endless, violent 1984 strike against the Thatcher closure of British coal mines. Widower Jackie Elliot and his firstborn, fellow miner Tony, take a dim view of 11 year-old second son Billy's poor record in boxing class, which worsens when they discover he sneakily transferred to the neighboring, otherwise girls-only-attended ballet class. Only one schoolmate, closet-gay Michael Caffrey, encourages Billy's desire, aroused by the teacher, who judged him talented enough for private lesson, to train and try out for the world-renowned Royal Ballet audition. Only the prospect of a fancy career unimagined in the pauper quarter may twist pa and big brother's opposition to indispensable support. Written by KGF Vissers

Three stories of strangers meeting on the edge of war. A conscientious objector and a roaming artist find tenderness as the carnage of the Second World War unfolds across the English Channel. A bereaved mother struggles with bitterness and love in recollecting her estranged son, lost in the Falklands. Deep in the Black Forest of Germany, an ageing holocaust survivor seeks to bring peace to disturbed young boy and his equally wild stepfather.