SA film 'The Wound' to make its world premiere at prestigious Sundance Film Festival this weekend

Entertainer Nakhane Toure is set to fly the South African flag high when a film he is starring in premieres at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in America this weekend.

Nakhane, who has a celebrated music and writing career, announced late last year that he had been cast in the lead role in John Trengove's filmThe Wound.

The film depicts the story of Kwanda, a gay factory worker, who travels from the city to the rural area of his family's origin to be circumcised in a traditional rites-of-passage ceremony.

It is directed and co-written by John Trengove, who has worked on a number of TV series in South Africa.

Nakhane will join the rest of the film's cast when The Wound  makes its international premiere at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival on Sunday and told TshisaLIVE that he is both anxious and excited about the premiere.

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"I won't really know how I feel until I get to the festival, but there is a great anticipation and some nerves. Most of all, I am excited about the film. I have seen some of the versions of it (the film) but haven't yet seen the final edit," Nakhane said.

Nakhane explained that he had studied acting before, but was convinced to revisit the craft after speaking with director John Trengove.

"John Trengove originally wanted me to write the music for the film but as we started talking and sharing our life stories he asked me if I would be willing to audition. I responded that I had studied acting but was not sure if I still had it in me, if I still wanted to do it anymore. He told me that I should still come and audition and that if I was not good enough they would simply not cast me. So, I prepared for the audition and later got the part,' Nakhane said.

The film festival will also see the world premiere of a documentary based on the life of South African struggle icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, by French director Pascale Lamche.

A short synopsis of the documentary, entitled Winnie, was posted on the festival's website and read: "While her husband served a life sentence, paradoxically kept safe and morally uncontaminated, Winnie Mandela rode the raw violence of Apartheid, fighting on the front line and underground. This is the untold story of the mysterious forces that combined to take her down, labeling him a saint, her, a sinner".

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The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Utah, USA. This year's festival will run from 19 to 29 January and will showcase 122 feature-length films and 71 short films from 32 countries.

The festival is the largest independent film festival in the United States and this year drew 13,782 total submissions, including 4,068 feature-length films and 8,985 short films.

The Wound is expected to be released to local cinemas later this year.