I Swear is the true story of a Scottish teenager with Tourette syndrome — and one of the best films of 2026

🎥 Being different is hard enough. Being different in a way you can’t control — and can’t hide — is something else entirely. Written, directed, and produced by British filmmaker Kirk Jones, I Swear is built on the true story of Jonnie Davidson, a Scottish young man who developed Tourette syndrome in the 1980s, amid near-total ignorance of his condition, and went on to become an advocate and community activist raising awareness of the disorder.

The plot: Jonnie (Scott Ellis Watson as a teenager, Robert Aramayo as a young adult) is an adolescent whose life changes when he starts secondary school and the first symptoms of Tourette syndrome appear: involuntary tics, sounds, and the compulsive repetition of profanity that land him in trouble at school and cost him his dream of becoming a professional goalkeeper.

Nobody takes Jonnie seriously at first — his mother (Shirley Henderson) and father (Steven Cree) assume he’s simply acting out — but as the tics continue, the family fractures and his father leaves. Jonnie carries the guilt of what he believes he caused. He is eventually diagnosed, but without meaningful treatment, his social life unravels — until he meets Dottie (Maxine Peake), his friend’s mother, whose unlikely friendship becomes something both of them need.

What we liked: Aramayo delivers an exceptional and entirely unaffected performance. He inhabits Jonnie completely, conveying the physical reality of Tourette syndrome through involuntary movements and tics while expressing the internal psychological struggle with equal honesty. Henderson and Peake add genuine human warmth that deepens the whole film, carrying the weight of what the people around Jonnie go through.

The film’s pacing is also well-judged: Events unfold at a tempo that mirrors Jonnie’s psychological arc, moving from the shock of diagnosis and denial, through family breakdown and guilt, to acceptance and advocacy — without tipping into melodrama. The result is a film that stays with you and quietly prompts you to reconsider how we think about difference and acceptance.

The verdict: This film deserved every bit of recognition it received — from critics and audiences alike to its two BAFTA awards in 2026 — and we’re genuinely disappointed it hasn’t made it to mainstream cinemas in Egypt. If you’re in the mood for a grounded, moving drama that may well make you cry, don’t miss it.

WHERE TO WATCH- I Swear is screening at Downtown’s Zawya. In the mood for a movie night in? You can rent it on Apple TV.