Norman Astridge

Inspired by the Cadeby Main pit disaster, this is former miner and amateur director Charles Hanmer's innovative and audaciously ambitious feature debut. It's the tale of brassy Yorkshireman John Morgan's (played by Dewsbury's Beckett Bould) quest to convince an MP to finance a film about pit life. Threading stories about safety and technology with sketches of miners' hobbies, it's a holistic portrait of Barnsley pitmen.

The hero discovers his estranged wife dead and tries to frame her lover for the murder. He becomes involved with the criminals who make various unsuccessful attempts on his life while the police clear up the mystery.