McAvoy and Williams unpack Faith romance at Toronto
James McAvoy and writer-director Paul Andrew Williams sat down together in Toronto to talk through Faith, their new film built around Erin Doherty as a hard-working single mother, in a video interview published by Deadline on September 15 as part of its TIFF Studio series.
Williams wrote and directed the picture, according to that same Deadline interview. McAvoy stars opposite Doherty as the man her character may be falling for. The focus stays tight on those two people.
The interview followed the film's first festival screening, listed as Friday, September 11 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, according to Deadline. Bankside Films and Logical Pictures International are credited as the sales agents on the film, which in plain terms means they sell the right to release it territory by territory to local distributors. That sales process is how a festival premiere turns into cinema dates.
McAvoy used the conversation to praise his co-star, saying Doherty would give an exceptional performance, according to Deadline. Doherty, identified by ScreenDaily as the star of Adolescence, carries the story as a mother under strain. Deadline, in its review published September 11, described her character as a mother on the brink and described the film itself as a supernatural drama shown at the Toronto Film Festival.
The festival's official programme page, titled Faith - TIFF, describes Doherty's performance in terms of love, despair and resilience. Deadline's compilation of its TIFF 2026 reviews, published September 14, groups the Williams film starring Doherty and McAvoy among the festival's emotional chamber pieces, trade shorthand for small-cast dramas played out in tight spaces with nowhere to hide.
ScreenDaily reported on February 13 that Faith had been picked up for the United Kingdom and Ireland, an early distribution deal struck well before the Toronto launch.
What makes this stand out for viewers coming fresh is the shape. Two familiar faces. One fragile connection. A supernatural edge noted in Deadline's festival coverage, kept close around Doherty at the centre.
