John Cranko

Stuttgart 1960 - when choreographer John Cranko (Sam Riley) lands by plane, he has no idea that this moment will change his entire life. Cranko has been engaged as a guest choreographer at the Stuttgart Ballet for a limited period of time. In London, where he had to endure numerous humiliations, including being banned from working, because of his homosexuality, nothing could hold him back. In tranquil Baden-Württemberg, John Cranko recovers from his humiliating experiences. Here, nobody seems to be bothered by his unconventional lifestyle. After a short time, Cranko becomes ballet director, the darling of the audience, devotes himself to his art and an intoxicating lifestyle, has affairs, suffers private setbacks and deep crises, runs his office in the theater canteen and refers to his company as 'his children'. The rapid and steep rise to the top of the world, the “Stuttgart Ballet Miracle”, made John Cranko a superstar of his time. Driven by his obsession and passion for his work, John Cranko is always in search of perfection - a grueling life that drew on the full - and was to come to a tragic end...