Where the Truth Lies

Director: Atom Egoyan

Year: 2000

Although Atom Egoyan's first adaptation The Sweet Hereafter won the Cannes jury prize and scored two Academy Award nominations, the writer-director was initially uncertain about tackling another novel as the basis of his next film. But when Icon head of development Karen Glasser sent him William Trevor's Felicia's Journey he was won over. "I was struck by the brilliance of the writing, the characters' depth and how many of the themes resonated with me," says Egoyan. The story follows naive Irish teenager Felicia as she treks to Birmingham to find her lover Johnny, but instead encounters the sinister and faintly comic Mr Hilditch. Egoyan, who was born in Cairo and grew up in Canada, brought an outsider's viewpoint to the film's locations, small-town Ireland and the industrial sprawl of the English Midlands. "I felt a responsibility," he says, "that both locations be presented with honesty and accuracy." Egoyan also found working with British and Irish actors a fresh experience. He praised the calibre of the actors who include newcomer Elaine Cassidy as Felicia and Bob Hoskins as Hilditch. Felicia's Journey is firmly stamped with Egoyan's style and preoccupations. The film includes regular Egoyan collaborators such as DoP Paul Sarossy, editor Susan Shipson and composer Mychael Danna, while the director's muse Arsinee Khanjian plays Hilditch's extraordinary mother Gala. The film's structure jumps back and forward in time, incorporating video and film footage, in a way that will be familiar to Egoyan fans. Felicia's Journey was released in the UK in October last year to critical acclaim.

Director: Christopher J. Byrne, Gandja Monteiro, Vincenzo Natali, Terry Matalas

Year: 2026

Marvel Television’s VISIONQUEST is an all-new original series screening on Disney+, which concludes the epic trilogy that began with 2021’s ground-breaking, award-winning WANDAVISION and 2024’s acclaimed AGATHA ALL ALONG. Vision, rebooted and having escaped from those who sought to weaponise him, has been in hiding. Searching for new meaning, he consults the AI personas embedded in his programming, including Friday, Edith, Jarvis, and the infamous Ultron. His discreet existence ends when a bounty placed on his head thrusts him on the run with Thomas Shepard, a mysterious boy who may be Vision’s son, reincarnate. As Vision evades capture, he must confront his nature, resist Ultron's influence, and unravel the enigma that is his young companion if he’s to survive. VISIONQUEST is created for television by Terry Matalas, based on the Marvel Comics. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival Official Selection 2026

Director: Tanya Reynolds

Year: 2026

Danielle and Harry's latest attempt at roleplay shines an uncomfortable light on what they really want from life. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2026