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Red Carpet Interviews I FAITH: Paul Andrew Williams Starring James McAvoy I TIFF 26 I Gotham Geek Girl

*WORLD PREMIERE | SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS |TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2026**

INTERVIEWS:
Writer and Director: Paul Andrew Williams
Smylie Bradwell (Jamie) Son
Producers: Danny Page and Dominic Tighe
A man and a woman stroll along a foggy pathway by the water, engaging in conversation. A duck is seen nearby, and the background features blurred figures and trees.
Written and Directed by: Paul Andrew Williams
Starring: Erin Doherty, James McAvoy, Liv Hill, Smylie Bradwell
Produced by: Danny Page, Dominic Tighe

Executive Produced by: Phil Hunt, Compton Ross, Stephen Kelliher, Sophie Green, Paul Andrew Williams, James McAvoy, Gary Devlin, Struan Glen, Constantin Emanuel Vilsmeier, Mehran Yazdani, Felicia Sobhani, Nizam Missaghi, Steve Sarowitz, Frédéric Fiore, Ryan Wickers, Andrei Kamarowsky, Shahin Sobhani, Naysun Alae-Carew


SYNOPSIS:
When a hard-working single mother meets a mysterious stranger, her ordinary life is turned upside down. Despite his kindness and compassion, his true intentions remain hidden until his astonishing true identity is revealed.


Faith
Paul Andrew Williams
WORLD PREMIERE
United Kingdom | 2026 | 109m | English

For single mother Gina (Erin Doherty, The Crown), every day is a balancing act. Raising her young son Jamie (Smylie Bradwell) while working shifts at a local factory, she does everything she can to build a comfortable home from modest means. When Gina meets the enigmatic and charming Michael (James McAvoy, California Schemin’, TIFF ’25) — a volunteer at the local food bank — his easy companionship offers the possibility of something she has long denied herself: the chance to envision a brighter future.
Then, in an instant, everything changes.

With remarkable rigour, writer-director Paul Andrew Williams (Song for Marion, TIFF ’12) explores both the unimaginable weight of grief and the fragile hope that can survive even our darkest moments. Known for his powerful portraits of ordinary lives under extraordinary pressure, Williams brings a new tenderness to Faith, blending grounded realism with subtle touches that expand the emotional world of the film. Doherty delivers a staggering performance, palpably capturing love, despair, and resilience while McAvoy commands a character whose true motivations remain elusive.

Heartbreaking yet filled with grace, Faith is a moving reflection on the fragile threads that keep us connected to life when everything else seems lost. Williams reminds us that hope rarely arrives all at once. Sometimes it begins with a simple kindness and with the possibility that there may be more connecting us than we can fully understand.
-JASON RYLE

Director Paul Andrew Williams
Paul Andrew Williams was born in Portsmouth, England, and began his career acting and creating short films and music videos. He directed the feature films London to Brighton (06) and Song for Marion (12), both of which played at the Festival, and The Cottage (08), Cherry Tree Lane (10), Bull (21), and Dragonfly (25). Faith (26) is his most recent film.

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