Nakhane Touré spreads his wings as an actor

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

Touré, who has a celebrated music and songwriting career, was cast in the lead role in John Trengove's film, The Wound.

The film, scheduled for release locally later this year, tells 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 rite-of-passage ceremony.

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

Touré will join the rest of the film's cast when The Wound makes its international premiere at Sundance on Sunday and said he is both anxious and excited.

"I won't really know how I feel until I get to the festival, but there is great anticipation and some nerves," Touré said.

He said he had studied acting before, but was persuaded to revisit the craft by 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 said I had studied acting but was not sure if I still had it in me. He told me I should audition and if I was not good enough they would simply not cast me."

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

A 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, labelling him a saint, her a sinner."

The Sundance Film Festival runs from January 19-29 and will showcase 122 feature films and 71 short films from 32 countries.