Year: 2026
Director: Louis Paxton
Writer: Louis Paxton
Producers: Shirley O’Connor and Emily Gotto
Co-Producer: Wendy Griffin
Executive Producers: Mia Bays, Kieran Hannigan, Steven Little, Trevor Noah, Sanaz Yamin, Lindsay Hicks, Moby, Phil Hunt, Compton Ross, Katie Holly
Production Company: Pilea Pictures
Main Cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Gayle Rankin, Grant O’Rourke, Michelle Gomez and John Hannah
Screen Scotland support: The film accessed £848,000 through Screen Scotland’s Film Development and Production Fund, as well as receiving support from the Screen Commission Recce Fund.
Synopsis
Set on a remote Scottish island, the film follows siblings Isla and Sandy (Rankin and O’Rourke) who have lived a totally normal life for decades, hunting seabirds, chatting to mythic creatures and defending their isle from dreaded Incomers. Their world is upended with the arrival of Daniel (Gleeson), an awkward council worker, come to uproot them to the mainland.
While Daniel brings strange new discoveries, Isla and Sandy teach the outsider the ‘ways of the gull’. Together, the trio are forced to confront the truth about their respective isolation.
More information
Filming locations: The Incomer was shot over summer 2025 in the Scottish Highlands at locations including Nottingham Steading Cottages (Latheron), Ulbster Farmhouse (Wick), Wellington Centre (Wick Estate), Thrumster Estates (Wick), Thurso, Clachan Farm (Bruan), Wick Golf Club, Park View Farm (Wick), Bay of Sannick, The Crofts (Bruan), Helmsdale, Lybster, Strathy, Melvich and Lybster.
Premiere: The Incomer will have its World Premiere at Sundance Film Festival 2026.
Image credits: Still credit Anthony Dickenson