In The Forgiveness of Blood, a small disagreement between two Albanian families grows hostile, then escalates to the point of destruction for everyone on the fringe of the personal conflict. The movie ran through the festival circuit in 2011, stopping at Toronto, Chicago, London, Telluride and Berlin, where it won a Silver Bear screenplay award from festival judges. It arrives in theaters here in the States on Feb. 24 (in limited release), and a new trailer has been posted. We have it below.



We’re interested because Blood director Joshua Marston burst onto the independent scene in 2004 with the gripping drug-mule drama Maria Full of Grace. And while he has stayed busy with television work since then on programs like In Treatment and Law & Order, this is his first full-blown feature since Grace and we’re eager to see what it is about the material that moved him.

Also, it’s always interesting to seek out strong voices in international cinema, as select countries go through movements that capture the attention of the global audience. A few years back, Romanian filmmakers captivated viewers with 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu. Last year, critics helped shine a light on Iran’s fantastic A Separation. Maybe 2012 will end up being the year of Albanian cinema? Or it could herald the arrival of a captivating new talent in Tristan Halilaj, who carries the coming-of-age drama as Nik, the teenager forced to atone for his father’s action. We’ll know more when Blood works its way to theaters late next month.