Michael Raeburn and Malcolm Kohll's TRIOMF, based on Marlene van Niekerk's internationally acclaimed novel (which won the Noma Award for African Literature in 1995) is to premiere as part of the 'New South African Cinema' season at The National Film Theatre in South Bank on 12 May. It will be released at The Ritzy Cinema in Brixton and The Curzon in Wimbledon on 14 May.

TRIOMF received tremendous critical acclaim. It was included in the Official Selection of the Pusan International Film Festival, and went on to win Best South African Film at the Durban International Film Festival, with Lionel Newton picking up the Best Actor award at the Tarifa Film Festival in Spain.

Michael Raeburn describes TRIOMF as "an African 'Brutti, Sporchi e Cattivi' (Director : Ettore Scola) with a touch of 'Bagdad Café' thrown in. A movie that perturbs as well as entertains. Although the story is set at a key moment in South African history (the 1st democratic election of 1994), the politics are background. TRIOMF is thematically conceived as a Greek tragedy of claustrophobia, incest, rage and madness set within a poor white family whose implosion echoes affairs of state, as Afrikaner power dies and a new world is born."

Praise for TRIOMF

'An outing worthy of Bunuel.' -- Cultural highlights 2009, Sunday Independent, South Africa

'This new film by Michael Raeburn is a pearl, and one of the most vibrant signs of the sort of films that can be made in South Africa today.' -- Michel Amarger, 'Media France', 2008 Cannes Film Festival "Pavilion Sud Selection"

'A powerful story, well told...bare-knuckle honesty...realistic, gripping, disturbing and well executed. Triomf is not for sissies.' -- Bongani Madondo,  The Sunday Times

'...with performances as intense as these, this powerful picture must surely be seen as a triumph for Suid-Afrikaanse filmmaking.' -- The Mail & Guardian

'Remarkable. Raeburn knows well what he is talking about' -- Guardian, UK

‘A powerful, moving exploration of the fear and loathing experienced by many South Africans as the country went from military state to young democracy...Based on the book by Marlene van Niekerk...The movie’s real power lies in its portrayal of race relations before the elections, with black hope standing in stark contrast to white paranoia...a compelling look at a turbulent time in SA’s history.’ -- TNT Magazine, UK