Name: The Incomer
Director: Louis Paxton
Released: 2026
Duration: 102 min

On a scarcely inhabited Scottish island, a visiting bureaucrat attempts to wrangle a pair of eccentric siblings in this charmingly off-kilter Sundance award-winning comedy.

Adult siblings Isla and Sandy have lived their entire lives on a remote and otherwise uninhabited Orkney island. Decades ago, before he died, their father warned them about “incomers” from the mainland; thus, apart from hunting seabirds and communing with imaginary beasts, the siblings spend their days training to fend off invaders. But when awkward government official Daniel is dispatched to evict the pair, nothing goes quite to plan.

Winning the Innovator Award in Sundance’s NEXT program for new filmmaking talent, The Incomer heralds writer/director Louis Paxton as an excitingly fresh voice in cinema. With a keen eye for the picturesque vistas of the northern Scottish environment where he spent his childhood and shot this film, Paxton mines the mysterious magic of the landscape – its beauty, decay and embedded mythology – as a key part of his storytelling, hilariously brought to life by a superb cast. House of the Dragon’s Gayle Rankin deserves special mention for the audacity of her performance as Isla, but Grant O’Rourke (Outlander), Domhnall Gleeson, John Hannah and Michelle Gomez are also magnificent. With quirky wit and heartwarming pathos, The Incomer is a smart and absurd crowdpleaser about the importance of remaining true to oneself.

“An uproariously funny, heartwarming folktale infused with layers of sincerity and deadpan humour, The Incomer is a true delight … one of the year’s most charming debuts.” – International Cinephile Society