Cape Town - Skoonheid, the award-winning new film by South African director Oliver Hermanus, has secured an American distribution deal with TLA Releasing. The deal was made at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Skoonheid is screening in the Official Selection.

Skoonheid was also sold to the territory of Poland during the festival with a few more deals likely to also be inked before the festival ends on Saturday. The film has already been successfully distributed in the UK, Australia, Germany, Italy, Holland and France.

The film won the Queer Palm Award at the Canneds film festival in May where it competed in the Un Certain Regard category.

UK premiere

Skoonheid, which is in it's sixth week of national release in South Africa, will also compete in the International Competition at the Zurich International Film Festival in September. The film will then travel to London, where it has been invited to have its UK premiere at the London Film Festival in October. The film also launches nationwide on French cinema screens on October 12.

Skoonheid tells the cautionary tale of Francois van Heerden (played by Deon Lotz), a middle-aged Bloemfontein family man, who develops a conflicted infatuation with Christian, the 23-year-old son of an old friend.

The film is represented by MK2 for international sales.
 
"We are pleased to have worked with MK2 to bring Oliver Hermanus' controversial and unsettling drama to American audiences," TLA Releasing’s president Derek Curl said.