When teenager Sam arrives home one day, her mother is already gone. She is said to have fallen off the ladder, so her father tells her. She was dead immediately. Now Sam is alone with him and her two brothers. She misses her mother and has to be strong and take on many tasks in the family at the same time. Some months pass by and yet her father is so absent he gives her a children’s book for her birthday. Deeply saddened, she overlooks a truck on the country road on her way to school. Sam wakes up in the afterlife, which looks completely different from her expectations. A subway takes her to the friendly city of the dead. Here she meets her mother. Even though both are happy to be reunited, there is a chance for Sam to start her life all over again. She could save her mother by hiding the ladder! But was it really the truth her father told her about her mother’s death? And can the two women escape their fate?

Ariella drinks and smokes like other teenage girls. But this is frowned upon in Israel. Her father is an army officer and reacts with a firm hand to his older daughter’s dissolute lifestyle. He humiliates her by having her spend the night outside the house after she returned home late. Anger is mounting in Ariella due to this injustice. So it accommodates her that she can go on a trip to a bathing place with her mother and her little sister. In order to get there, they have to take dangerous desert paths driving in an all-wheel jeep. On the way back, Ariella urges her mother to let her drive. The novice driver loses control of the SUV and a terrible accident occurs. She flees for fear of her father and hides in a place that her father would never go to. Unspoken truths and danger are in the air until a bombshell is about to be dropped and a hidden past comes to light.

As a little girl, Frances travels through her Irish homeland with her family in a horse-drawn caravan. Her beautiful mum with a bellbright voice will soon have another baby, when suddenly the police appear in the camp. In the scuffle her mother falls heavily and is fatally injured. Only the unborn brother can be saved. Her father is put in prison because he wanted to defend his family. Years later he is released and contacts his children again. Frances has become a young woman whose fate has taught her to defend herself, not to resign herself to being pushed around and being treated contemptuously by others. This is why she started boxing, and this is why Muhammad Ali, who is going from strength to strength, has become her role model. But fighting women are inconceivable in her family tradition. The father laughs at his daughter’s sporting ambitions and notices almost too late that men like him have every reason to be proud of their strong daughters.

Parties, alcohol, pretty girlfriends – Franky and Ballas are best friends and lead a perfect teenage life. Just one thing is missing: the first time. Put under pressure by Ballas, Franky and his girlfriend finally want to venture the next step on his 17th birthday. But contrary to all expectations, the two friends get dangerously close. Confused and angry about this incident, the they keep their distance until Ballas openly accuses Franky of being gay and having forced him to have sex. Franky becomes the target of homophobia, gets involved in fights and leaves the swimming team. To top it all, Franky’s estranged father, who left his mother because of another man many years ago, also interferes. Franky does not want to listen to him and his well-intentioned advice about accepting one’s sexual orientation. Only Natasha, about whom other rumours are circulating, seems to understand him in this difficult and lonely time. From now on, the two childhood friends walk through life together – a new start has been made.

Algeria, in the early 1990s: civil war is raging in the country. Radical militant groups try to establish an Islamist state, and those standing in their way are eliminated. Nedjima lives during this period of time. The 18-year-old studies French and is enthusiastic about fashion design. Together with her friends, she does everything ‘papichas’, pretty young girls, are not supposed to do – they have parties, wear revealing clothes and show provocative behaviour. Even war cannot stop them from wanting to lead a normal life. But political tension in the country is growing. Women are increasingly oppressed, controls are tightened and the number of violent conflicts increases. But Nedjima continues to refuse the conservative regime. When her sister is shot dead before her eyes, her world is collapsing. In her distress and anger, the longing for political change increases. As part of the struggle for her freedom, Nedjima therefore decides to put on a fashion show despite all risks.

Marius is a reliable guy: he is popular, never misses his cross-country training, and his father always praises him to the skies. Even when he makes the selfish suggestion that they can form learning groups of two students each, he does everything right. However, instead of working with Lea, the most popular girl in class, Marius is assigned crazy ‘psychobitch’ Frida by his teacher. Marius accepts his fate and meets her. Everyone knows that she has already tried to kill herself and always reacts waspishly to others. But her cheeky and unconventional nature touches something inside him and soon they secretly become friends. Marius fights his feelings, especially his fear of other people’s opinions, and does not dare to admit that he likes the ‘crazy one’. Shouldn't he rather have sex with Lea at the next party? For the first time in his life Marius does not know what is the right thing to do – and is in danger of doing everything wrong.

North Yorkshire, England: Angie lives with her two younger siblings Polly and Ben in a house by the sea. Her father can feed the family very poorly. He travels with his donkeys to let young excursionists ride them. Since her mother left husband and children, the family has a strong bond of togetherness, which slightly makes them forget the hard times. One day her father’s body is recovered from the sea and brought to their house by the children. In a touching ceremony they say goodbye and try to look into the future at the same time. They are not only afraid of being separated by being accommodated in different children’s homes. The return of their uncle from prison poses an even greater threat to the children. He talks about money his brother would have owed him, which Angie should finally return. The children have to flee. With their donkeys, they battle their way through North York Moore, uncles and authorities being close on their heels. Their only hope is their mother, although they do not even know if she is still alive.

Holmsund is a small town in Sweden – picturesquely situated on the archipelago coast, blessed with industrial jobs and a ferry connection to Finland. Here Sabina and two Romanian compatriots are looking for happiness. Her dark hair and brown skin look like a dark spot that seems to irritate and disturb the blond Swedes. Sabina is not welcome, she feels it, she does not even find work. But there is also hope: one day she meets Elin. At first glance she looks like all the others. But she does not behave like that: she approaches Sabina and tries to communicate in Pigeon English. Her outsiderism unites the two dissimilar girls. Elin also feels like an alien in Holmsund with her scratched arms and her crazy father. The two teenagers dream of another place where they can enjoy their friendship and their lives without suspicious looks. But what if one of them leaves?

Eminem’s “8 Mile” in a British seaside resort: rage is the sensation Adam feels most often. He is furious with his foster families, his social worker and especially with his mother, who abandoned him when he was little. After destroying his room at his new foster parents’ home in a dispute, he has to move again. This is supposed to be his last station: an elderly lady who is familiar with difficult cases and who takes him in until he has to move to a new family or comes of age. Thus Adam gets back to his birthplace of Southend-on-Sea. In a gambling hall he meets Makayla, a bright young woman who takes him to a secret rap battle. It quickly becomes clear: Adam has great talent. Instead of screaming or throwing things, he can put his anger and disappointment into tough lines and is rewarded with applause. Thanks to his growing self-confidence, he can deal with his past and even assume responsibility for his own future.