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Ted Evans is describing his debut feature Retreat, a thriller told entirely in British sign language (BSL), when he mentions the influence of kung-fu films.
“I grew up watching Jackie Chan films and they were so accessible,” explains Evans, who is deaf. “The way they shoot combat scenes, it’s a visual language anyone can understand, and sign language is a visual language too. There’s so much you can do with it in cinema.”
Retreat is fresh from a world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival, having been presented at Cannes earlier this year as part of the BFI and British Council’s Great 8 showcase. Based on Evans’ 2013 short of the same name, the film is set in an isolated deaf community shaken up by a new arrival. Producers are The Fold and 104 Films with financing from BBC Film and the BFI, and XYZ Films handling world sales.
“I’ve always found people scarier than monsters,” says the filmmaker, who admits to a fascination with cults. “I wanted to use that environment to explore things I’ve always questioned about myself.”
London-based Evans has been honing his craft for well over a decade. His 2011 short The End found a warm reception among the deaf community, and in 2012 he co-wrote and directed two films for the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games. In 2018, his short To Know Him scored a British Independent Film Award nod, and in 2024 he was nominated for a Bafta TV award in emerging talent with BBC documentary Rose Ayling-Ellis: Signs For Change.
“It irks me when people call [my work] groundbreaking just because it has BSL in it,” says Evans. “I want people to talk about the stories and the talents too.”
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