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He says that the film's message is that "creative people are left dormant because we, as a society, have no idea or ambition how to tap into them".Īctress Julie Walters identifies with how people felt during the miners' strike. It is funny and coarse but should also make you cry. It's a coming of age story about someone who finds beauty and reason in his life. The strike left me with a sense of indignation which has fuelled much of my work" he says. Geordie writer Lee Hall was interested in writing about the 1984 miners' strike which he sees as one of the defining moments in British history. The Lynemouth and Ellington pit which appears in the film was the only remaining mine in the North East.īilly Elliot was written by Geordie script writer Lee Hall. Recreating the miner's strikeĮasington's streets were dressed in the style of 1984 at the time of the miners' strike for the film. Other locations included Dawdon Miner's Institute and Newcastle upon Tyne. The mining sequences were shot at Ellington and Lynemouth Mine in Northumberland. The pit village is shot in a very claustrophobic way to reflect the tight knit community. Most of the film was shot on location in Easington Village where the terraced streets doubled as a mining community at the time of the miners' strike. We had to go all the way to Lynemouth and Ellington to look for them."īilly Elliot was shot in entirety in the North East using a variety of industrial locations. With the help of his ballet teacher (Julie Walters), Billy gets an audition for the Royal Ballet School but will his working class origins hold him back? On Location "We didn't realise how hard it would be to find working pits. Kicking against family disapproval and deeply rooted stereotypes, Billy struggles to break free. When his family find out that he's been skipping boxing for ballet lessons, Billy (Jamie Bell) has to prove that he's got what it takes to follow his dreams.īilly embarks on a journey of self discovery amidst a world of picket lines and riot police. Jamie Bell was picked for the role of Billy after a search of over 2,000 childrenīilly Elliot is a story of one boy's hopes and dreams set against the backdrop of the miners' strike.īilly is a teenage boy who lives in a harsh North East mining community. The film's star Jamie Bell began dancing at the age of six in his home town of Billingham Starring Julie Walters and Jamie Bell, it is a powerful story of the triumph of a young boy's dreams in the face of adversity.īilly Elliot star Jamie Bell comes from Billingham in Teessideīilly Elliot is written by Lee Hall who also wrote Gabriel and Meĭirector Stephen Daldry made his name in the theatre This page has been archived and is no longer updated.įeatures You are in: Tyne > Entertainment > Hollywood On Tyne > Features > Billy Elliotīilly Elliot In a nutshell … Billy Elliot is a coming of age story about a teenager who wants to become a ballet dancer.