David Mackenzie delivers a suspenseful thriller with "Relay," which premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film stars Riz Ahmed as Tom, who acts as a sort of middleman between whistleblowers and corporations. The ultra-secretive Tom operates in a morally ambiguous territory until Lily James' Sarah enlists his services. What follows is a game of cat and mouse, a mix of high and low tech that culminates in a suspenseful twist that also throws some shade at corporations. Black Bear Intl. represents the international rights to the thriller, while CAA Media Finance and UTA Independent Film Group own the U.S.

The director behind “Hell and High Water” and “Under the Banner of Heaven” is currently finishing up his next film, “Fuze,” which is filming in London and stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson. “So it’s been pretty intense, a bit complex, a bit of a violent film all over London. Yeah, it’s coming out pretty good, I think. But it’s definitely been a lot of work,” he says.

"I've done a lot of arthouse films and I love those films, but I'm trying to find a way to make films that are still sophisticated but also a little more audience-engaged and potentially commercial." "Relay" could easily have had Warren Beatty and been a hit in 1973. Mackenzie grins a little at this, acknowledging that this was the type of thriller he wanted to make. "And I thought Riz would be a more interesting contemporary version than a lot of other actors, and just went in that direction. And he was great to work with," Mackenzie says.

Ahmed's tense intensity and, since his dialogue is limited, he does most of his acting with his expressive eyes. "The casting process is always a funny old thing and I've followed his career as a consumer, over the years, and I always thought, oh, he's really interesting."