When "Maria Full Of Grace" arrived in 2004, the film won critical praise that was carried all the way to an Oscar nomination for Catalina Sandino Moreno, and marked the arrival of director Joshua Marston. It seemed like the world was an oyster for Marston, who honed his chops following the hit film with some television work, and contributed a segment to the omnibus "New York, I Love You." However, his followup feature "The Forgiveness Of Blood," arriving six years after 'Grace,' went in a direction no one could have guessed.
The film is an Albanian language drama, centering on a blood feud between two families, told through the eyes of the brother and sister pairing of one of the affected families, Nik and Rudina (non-actors Tristan Halilaj and Sindi Lacej). It's some ambitious fare, and the results have earned praise from nearly every place where "The Forgiveness Of Blood" has landed. The film did a solid round of festival appearances last year hitting Toronto, Telluride, London and AFI while snagging Best Screenplay awards in both Berlin and Chicago. We caught up with "The Forgiveness Of Blood" all the way around the world in Melbourne last summer, calling the film "Honest and unflinching," "unique" and "riveting." So yes, this is one you should be tracking down.
Sundance Selects will release the film into theaters on February 24th, and we're happy to unveil the poster for the film below.
