Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett is to make her directorial debut with an English-language film based on Herman Koch’s best seller The Dinner.

The Dinner is a ‘family drama with black edges’ and centres on two brothers and their wives who meet at a fashionable restaurant in the knowledge their 15 year old sons have committed a terrible crime. The book has been translated into 33 languages, a record for a Dutch novel.

A Dutch version of the film, with Daan Schuurmans, Kim van Kooten, Jacob Derwig and Thekla Reuten in the main roles, had its premier at the Toronto film festival earlier this month. It will go on general release in November.

Some American media reports say Blanchett may also star in the film.