Nakhane Touré walked away with the Best Actor award at the prestigious Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) over the weekend for his role on critically acclaimed film Inxeba‚ also known as The Wound.

The film had its African premiere at The Playhouse in Durban and walked away victorious at a star-studded closing ceremony on Saturday night.

John Trengrove also got the Best Director gong and applauded his cast and crew.

“I am so grateful to the incredible cast and crew who put their faith and trust in this journey. This film is a testament to their efforts. I want to dedicate this award to the silent and faceless queers throughout the African continent who face insurmountable obstacles every day in a struggle for identity and dignity."

The Wound tells the story of the Xhosa initiation ritual and the intimate relationship that develops between three men undergoing the ceremony. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and has received massive international recognition.

Since the release of the film Nakhane has been outspoken about how he has been attacked over his role. He said he has been called a 'sell out of the Xhosa culture' and has been a victim of homophobic slurs.

"I had prepared myself for a backlash of some sort‚ but I didn’t know it would be quite this homophobic. I knew it would be cultural and that people would be mad about that‚ but not this homophobic. But I kind of understand why people are mad; why they’re so defensive of their culture. It is‚ after all‚ their culture. But it is also my culture‚" he told Mail&Guardian.