Briefest Encounters

BRIEFEST ENCOUNTERS has been quietly waiting in the wings for decades to be told. Journalist and filmmaker Joanna Crosse uncovers the hidden past of her grandfather – actor Cyril Raymond - who played the cuckolded husband in the film. In an uncanny twist of fate, Cyril had a ‘brief encounter’ with fellow actor Janet Morrison during a transatlantic stage production which resulted in a child being born out of wedlock. This documentary is where cinema myth meets lived experience. Through interviews, letters, diaries and archive material, Briefest Encounters shows how interrupted love, inherited silence and duty shaped family lives for generations. Some love stories don’t end. They echo.

Directed by Joanna Crosse, Luke Taylor, Briefest Encounters leans on a strong ensemble — Cyril Raymond, Janet Morrison, Joanna Crosse — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about documentary titles of 2025.