Bobedi, who has recently been appointed CEO of a large mining company, is celebrating his success with his friends and family, when his wife, Joy, is murdered in plain sight. Frustrated by the pace of justice, Bobedi decides to take things into his own hands and finds the killer. But when he catches the murderer, Bobedi comes face-to-face with a terrible secret that connects them across time and history. Set in Johannesburg, South Africa, [State of Violence] reveals how complex the issues of forgiveness and revenge are in a society with a violent political past. Winner of Best Film at the Durban International Film Festival 2007, Khalo Matabane’s long-awaited follow up graced the opening night of this year’s edition of the festival. It was also invited to Toronto International Film Festival. Matabane widens the film’s focus from the story of one man to an examination of how the scars of the past never truly disappear and about memory and reconciliation. South Africa’s finest cast gives utterly believable and engrossing performance. (RHEE Soue-won)