Starring Fana Mokoena ( Generations, Hopeville), State of Violence follows a mining CEO whose wife is murdered in what appears to be a random senseless act of violence. He decides to avenge his wife's death, but finds that he and the killer have a terrible past in common.

State of Violence official trailer

The film is directed by Kahlo Matabane, whose previous work includes the miniseries When We Were Black and the art house film Conversations on a Sunday Afternoon.  He describes State of Violence as a "film about  memory and denial, which makes it quite a universal tale".

State of Violence showed at the Toronto International Film Festival and received a special mention at the Spanish Festival De Cine Africano. It has also showed at festivals in Tunisia and Germany.

With Mokoena in the lead role, the ensemble cast for the film includes Vusi Kunene ( Isidingo, Generations) , Lindi Matshikiza ( Jozi) and Presley Chweneyagae ( Tsotsi).