Ted Evans's deaf thriller Retreat earns a place on BAFTA's 2026 Breakthrough UK list
British writer-director Ted Evans has been named to the 2026 BAFTA Breakthrough UK list of rising talent, according to BAFTA's official announcement. He is credited as writer and director of Retreat, his feature debut. BAFTA says the programme is supported by Netflix.
Retreat is a thriller about a young woman who arrives at a remote wellness retreat for Deaf people. It stars Anne Zander, James Joseph Boyle and Sophie Stone. The film is billed as "the world's first deaf thriller", and it has an all-deaf cast, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which also reported that the film made history at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Evans is deaf himself, and he describes his work as "sign language cinema". He uses the phrase to mean bringing Deaf people, sign languages and Deaf culture onto the screen. The crew followed the same approach. Deaf talent worked behind the camera too, including sign language directors, assistant directors and runners.
Evans is not new to the screen. He directed the television documentary Rose Ayling-Ellis: Signs for Change. About 14 years ago he made a short film, also called Retreat, on a shoestring budget. Stone appeared in both the short and the feature, so the story has been in development for a long time.
The BAFTA list is a way of spotting people early in their careers. Being named on it puts a new director's name in front of the British film and television industry at a point when many first features are still looking for their audiences. For Evans, the recognition comes after a debut that has already travelled to a major international festival.
