Athol Fugard worked this way when he made Sizwe Bansi is Dead and The Island.

NPR: Play Captures Life Under South African Apartheid

"Tsotsi, " in Afrikaans as well as urban dialects, with English subtitles, was adapted from the only novel thus far by the great South African playwright Athol Fugard.

WSJ: 'Tsotsi' Is Transformed by Actor's Stunning Debut

Tsotsi is based on a novel by Athol Fugard who is better known for 20 astonishing plays that confronted apartheid on world stages for some three decades.

NPR: 'Tsotsi,' a 'Gangster' Flick with a Heart