Plots(1)
Documentary directed by Bart Layton that uses interviews and dramatised recreations to piece together the bizarre story of a missing boy and the young man who impersonated him. Nicholas Barclay was 13-years-old when he disappeared from San Antonio, Texas in 1994, leaving his family bereft. Over three years later, he turned up unexpectedly in Spain and was flown home to his family - albeit this Nicholas spoke with a French accent, had grown a beard and had different-coloured hair and eyes. Astoundingly, the boy's family managed to overlook these glaring irregularities until a private investigator was able to prove that he wasn't their son at all, but rather Frederic Bourdin, a 23-year-old French con artist. The film explores the human capacity to believe what we want to believe in spite of all evidence to the contrary. (4DVD)
(more)Awards
- Winner
- Nominations
British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)
- 2013 - Bart Layton, Dimitri Doganis (Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer)
- 2013 - Best Documentary Film
British Independent Film Awards (BIFA)
- 2012 - Best Feature Documentary
- 2012 - Bart Layton (The Douglas Hickox Award)
- 2012 - Best British Independent Film
- 2012 - Bart Layton (Best Director)
- 2012 - Achievement in Production
- 2012 - Technical Achievement
Critics Choice Awards
- 2013 - Best Documentary Feature
Sundance Film Festival
- 2012 - Bart Layton (World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary)
Zurich Film Festival
- 2012 - Bart Layton (Best International Documentary)
Miami Film Festival
- 2012 - Bart Layton (Knight Documentary Achievement Award)