On a remote Scottish isle, the lives of two siblings change when an awkward official arrives to relocate them.

Adult siblings Isla and Sandy have lived their entire lives on a remote and otherwise uninhabited Orkney island. Decades ago, before he died, their father warned them about “incomers” from the mainland; thus, apart from hunting seabirds and communing with imaginary beasts, the siblings spend their days training to fend off invaders. But when awkward government official Daniel is dispatched to evict the pair, nothing goes quite to plan.

Winning the Innovator Award in Sundance’s NEXT programme for new filmmaking talent, “The Incomer” heralds writer/director Louis Paxton as an excitingly fresh voice in cinema. With a keen eye for the picturesque vistas of the northern Scottish environment where he spent his childhood and shot this film, Paxton mines the mysterious magic of the landscape – its beauty, decay and embedded mythology – as a key part of his storytelling, hilariously brought to life by a superb cast – Gayle Rankin (“House of the Dragon”), Grant O’Rourke (“Outlander”), Domhnall Gleeson (“Ex Machina”), John Hannah (“Four Weddings and a Funeral”) and Michelle Gomez.

With quirky wit and heartwarming pathos, “The Incomer” is a smart and absurd crowdpleaser about the importance of remaining true to oneself.