The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) has announced the Audience Choice Awards for the best DIFF film and the top Wavescape film at this year’s festival.

Under the DIFF banner, the film Nakom (Ghana/USA) took the honours. Directed by Kelly Daniela Norris and Trav Pittman, the feature tells a story of a Ghanaian medical student named Iddrisu, played by Jacob Ayanaba, whose life comes to a halt when his father dies unexpectedly.

As the eldest son, he is called to return to his family homestead to bury his father, only to discover family tensions between his mother and his father’s ‘junior’ wife.

The film shows a dramatic portrayal of the enduring conflict between the modern and the traditional in which Iddrisu wishes to move forward without betraying his upbringing Nakom has been described as a window into a culture and language rarely shown on screen.

The Icelandic film No Country For Cold Men won the audience choice award in the Wavescape Surf Film Festival at the DIFF.

Directed by Ryan Mattick, the film is based on a kneeboarder, bodyboarder and surfer who go on a surf trip to break free of the conflict among their ilk. The film challenges the notion of harmony in a humorous manner while taking a closer look at the surf society.