Scottish director Paul Wright’s new film “Mission”, starring George MacKay, follows an isolated man who pursues increasingly dangerous experiences in an attempt to feel alive and escape death. Premiering in competition at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the drama examines alienation, emotional numbness and the blurred boundary between transcendence and wrongdoing.

MacKay plays Dylan, while Rosy McEwen plays his estranged sister Claire. Wright says the film was inspired by dissatisfaction with modern capitalist life, declining religious structures and a search for ecstasy through music, movement and the body; his influences include performance artists Chris Burden and Marina Abramović, Dadaism and alternative music. The film is backed by BBC Film, Screen Scotland and Ffilm Cymru Wales, with Blue Finch Films handling worldwide sales.