Switzerland's 57th Locarno International Film Festival will have its first South African-made entry when it premieres Forgiveness, starring Arnold Vosloo, Quanita Adams and Denise Newman on Saturday.
Forgiveness is one of 18 films selected for official competition from around the world. The film is an examination of what happens when a killer asks for forgiveness from his victim's family.
Set in a post-apartheid South Africa, the Grootboom family struggle to cope with facing their son's killer, Tertius Coetzee, played by Vosloo.
In a letter from the festival committee, deputy director Teresa Cavina said Forgiveness was invited into the competition "for its incredible story telling and attention to detail and a blessed hand in the directing of actors and control of cinematography".
Commenting on the films selected, Irene Bignardi, Locarno Festival director said: "We chose films that had the most to say about the tumultuous upheaval of the world today - and the most pertinent, impertinent and interesting ways of saying it."
The film's director Ian Gabriel said: "This is a great opportunity to expose South African talent internationally - it's great to be premiering in Europe while the film is still a big talking point on the local circuit."
The festival will fly Cape Town-based actress Denise Newman, who plays the mother of the family in the film, to attend the film's European opening.
She said she is "very proud of the film and that this particular film is getting a broader international scope".
"Also, I'm very happy that we finally have our own stories to tell," she added.
Playing Magda Grootboom was not a particularly difficult exercise for Newman.
"I grew up in the 1970s and 1980s and that is part of my history," she said.
Also, the film's theme of forgiveness was easier for her to access as she was "a very good friend of Amy Biehl and I took a leaf out of Linda and Peter Biehl's book, and in a sense I learnt about forgiveness".