Director Joshua Marston follows up his impressive debut Maria Full of Grace with another tense drama about conflict and duty. Working from a script he co-wrote with Albanian cinematographer Andamion Murataj, Marston has gathered together a cast of extraordinary non-professional actors and woven together a film which will have you on the edge of your seat from the opening shot until the last.

The film begins with a murder which brings to a head a long-standing feud between two Albanian families. Honour dictates that the victim must be avenged, so the men in the killer’s family are forced to flee or barricade themselves inside their homes. Obliged to quit school, Rudina (Sindi Lacej) takes over her father’s delivery route and flourishes, much to the chagrin of a business rival. Her brother Nik (Tristan Halilaj), a teenager in the midst of a fledgling high school romance, is frustrated by being stuck at home. He begins to take foolish risks and ultimately considers committing an act of unforgivable betrayal.

An authentic look at the culture and customs of a country rarely seen on film, The Forgiveness of Blood also expertly captures the generational clash between old traditions and new-found freedom.