BFI Distribution has released the gripping first trailer for ‘Islands,’ the tense new psychological thriller from acclaimed German filmmaker Jan-Ole Gerster (Lara, A Coffee in Berlin).
Following its acclaimed world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, the film will have its UK premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival before arriving in UK and Irish cinemas on 12 September 2025, with a BFI Player release on 27 October 2025.
BAFTA-nominated Sam Riley (Control, Firebrand) leads the cast as Tom, a former professional tennis player whose glory days are long behind him. Now working as a coach at an all-inclusive hotel in Fuerteventura, Tom drifts through a monotonous cycle of sun-soaked days, casual flings, and heavy drinking. The dream of endless summers has lost its shine—until the arrival of an unusual family changes everything.
Anne (Stacy Martin, The Brutalist, Nymphomaniac) arrives with her husband Dave (Jack Farthing, Spencer, The Lost Daughter) and their young son. They don’t fit the typical tourist mould, and Tom finds himself drawn into their world. But when Dave vanishes without a trace and Anne’s behaviour becomes increasingly erratic, Tom is pulled into a dark and dangerous mystery—one that will push him to question his own motives and the secrets lurking beneath the island’s idyllic façade.
The trailer teases sun-drenched vistas laced with a sense of unease, as Gerster’s sharp direction builds tension in a paradise that hides far more than it reveals. Riley delivers a brooding central performance, matched by Martin’s enigmatic turn and Farthing’s understated presence.
‘Islands’ promises a slow-burn psychological thriller filled with atmospheric dread, moral ambiguity, and the unnerving realisation that paradise can be the most dangerous place of all.
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Watch the trailer for below.
