Marga Neirynck

West Flanders, 1940. The Germans have invaded Belgium. In a state of panic, thousands of people flee to France. Among them are ten-year-old Waldo and his parents. They travel through the Poperinge and Ypres region toward the border. There, Waldo’s parents are killed in a bombardment. Waldo continues toward the coast with his fourteen-year-old neighbor, Vera. A journey with a tragic end

Mr. Vitàl is the sole heir and initially very energetic nephew of an elderly rentier, Uncle Ken, who succumbs to years of excessive enjoyment of the finer things in life, especially too much gin and too much of his young maid Flavie. As the village doctor succinctly sums it up: 'L'Alcool et Flavie' broke Uncle Ken. The title refers to the esophageal ulcer, a result of alcohol abuse, which feels like a ball burning the throat. Although Mr. Vitàl is well aware of the causes of his uncle's demise, he eventually goes down the same path.

1989. Hugo (Michael Pas) is in his first master's year economics. At the same time he is training for the 110 meter hurdles. And he has another sport: chasing girls. But when his latest catch (Antje De Boeck) suddenly disappears, he's obsessively starts looking for her. She seems to have ended up in an idyllic, utopian countryhouse.

"What are we actually doing here?" Miel asks Jack Van Poll, the pianist. "Earning a living, I suppose?" is the laconic reply. But Miel wants more out of life than playing in a jazz band, away from the worries of his wife and child who constantly need money from him. Between dream and deed... but then he is suddenly confronted with harsh reality.

Stan Moereels is found dead. Was it suicide, or was he killed? Stan's foster-child Jana Meyer decides to investigate. Alexander Vorlat doesn't make it easy for her. He has his own reasons to make it difficult for everyone around him.