The Imposter

Director Bart Layton's first feature release is an astonishing work that lingers long in the memory. Though it would probably have been dismissed as too far-fetched as fiction, this stylish and stylised film is a documentary, based on hard fact. Layton's Bafta award-winning work recounts the strange story of Nicholas Barclay, a 13-year-old boy who went missing in Texas, only to turn up on a horrendously storm-battered night three years later, in a phone box in southern Spain. He tells the police he underwent an extended ordeal of abduction and abuse, and only wants to be reunited with his family. Overjoyed to discover he's still alive, they dispatch Nicholas's sister Carey to fetch him back home. But, once in Spain, she finds herself face-to-face with someone who barely even resembles or sounds like the missing teen. That she and her family are willing to suspend disbelief is only the first surprise in the tale that follows; one that, through interviews and dramatic reconstructions, probes the deep-seated human need to match hope and reality, as well as exploring compulsive deceit and darker allegations. In addition to its Bafta award, this Film4 production picked up a swathe of nominations and wins at festivals around the globe.