What if your teenage son disappeared? What if he was found again, three years later, halfway around the world? Would you recognize him? Would your desire for a family to be reunited trump any doubts or inconsistencies about who this person might really be? Those are the questions are the heart of director Bart Layton's "The Imposter," a documentary that is sure to make waves when it premieres today at the Sundance Film Festival.
Mixing dramatizations and a narrative that takes us through this improbable, but very true story, the film follows the saga of a 13 year-old boy who disappears from his home in San Antonio, Texas only to be found three years later, in Spain. But what seems like a happy ending, is only the beginning, as the boy has arrived from his absence with a new accent and looking decidedly different. Once an investigator gets involved, the tale takes even more intriguing twists and turns, resulting in a documentary that is every bit as provocative as it is engaging, with a mystery that will keep you guessing.
Layton is making his feature documentary debut with the film, that is contention for the World Cinema Documentary prize at Sundance, where it premieres today. If you can't make it Park City, or want a bit of taste before you head to a screening, we have an exclusive clip from the film that you can watch below.