A tale of blood, bullets and poverty, Oscar contender "Tsotsi" rings true in its home market of South Africa - which is why it has proved such a hit.
"Tsotsi" is the story of a 19-year-old gangster from South Africa's most famous township, Soweto, who steals a car and shoots its owner, only to discover a baby in the back seat.
The film takes the gangster on a journey of personal redemption but not without a series of shootings, car-jackings and murder - a grim reality for many poor South Africans and a constant source of fear for the well-heeled.
Not only has the pacey drama won an Oscar nomination for best foreign film, but it has scored as one of South Africa's most successful home-grown films with a broad appeal to both black and white, rich and poor.
"We have never had a South African film that has crossed over so completely to different audiences," said Helen Kuun, marketing manager for local films at Ster-Kinekor Distribution. "We are getting the township audiences and we are getting the arthouse audiences."
"Tsotsi" has grossed almost 3 million rand ($490,800) after four weeks in cinemas here and drawn audiences of 40,000 people, from white professionals in the smart suburbs of Johannesburg and Cape Town, to real-life gangsters from black townships.
Excluding the populist films made by local comedian Leon Schuster, "Tsotsi" looks set to be South Africa's most successful film in a decade, more than doubling takings from "Yesterday", which was nominated for an Oscar last year, and beating Hollywood films about Africa, such as "Hotel Rwanda".
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