The Imposter

This hair-raising docu-thriller brings together the life stories of two apparently very different people. First up is the story of American Nicholas Barclay, who disappears under mysterious circumstances at the age of 13, never to be heard from again. Almost equally mysteriously, a confused young man turns up in Spain several years later, releasing Nicholas's family from their despair by making the impossible a reality. But how on earth did he manage it? When all the pieces of the puzzle are in place an entirely new perspective emerges, one that will have you on the edge of your seat. And as if all this story's bizarre twists and turns weren't enough, documentary filmmaker Bart Layton goes a step further by exploring the boundaries of the genre, interweaving interviews with reenacted conversations and events. The viewer is drawn into a game in which perception is continually put to the test. In this way, and on several levels, poses questions about how our reality is constructed and how susceptible to manipulation our judgment is.