This year the Prize of the Land Tirol 2013 for the best international feature film goes to NAIROBI HALF LIFE by David “Tosh” Gitonga (Kenia/Germany 2012). It is the story of a young Kenyan man who, despite all the circumstances, clings to his dream of becoming an actor. The jury justifies it’s decision such as: “Thanks to a commanding sense of direction and exemplary acting the audience soon identifies itself with a extraordinary protagonist who leads a double life. We are pulled into an emotional ride into an unknown but authentic, dynamic world. Relentlessly honest but with it’s moments of humour, a moral tale unfolds before us without the accompanying pointing finger. Fascinated, we follow into the abyss.”
The film was shown in cooperation with the long-time partner Trigon-Film and enabled by “Bruder und Schwester in Not – Diözese Innsbruck”. Last night the Kenyan director David “Tosh” Gitonga presented the film by himself – it’s his first feature film. The prize amounts 5.000€.

The Jury gave a special mention to another film: “The fiction film jury of the 2013 Innsbruck  International  Film Festival wishes to extend a special mention  to the whole acting ensemble of the competition film KEEP SMILING by Rusudan Chkonia. For the way the group keep the action going under tremendously difficult working conditions illuminating a human tragicomedy playing in present-day Georgia's transitional society.”

The audience from Innsbruck also had the chance to choose it’s favourite film out of the international featured film competition and also decided in favour of NAIROBI HALF LIFE.

This year’s documentary film award amounts to 1.500€ and goes to SÜSSES GIFT by Peter Heller (Germany 2011). Without any comment he questions development aid in Africa and pleads for an independent economic existence of Africa. The jury’s justification: “This film goes deeper inside and shows us all the dangers of trying to make people happy without asking them what they really want. With beautiful images respecting the dignity of the people and an emancipatory structure, this documentary introduces us to the complexity of a topic theme: international charity.” This film was presented in cooperation with “Südwind Tirol” and was one of the most visited films of the festival.

This year’s Südwind Filmpreis goes to Haifa al-Mansour for WADJDA (Saudi Arabia/Germany). The jury, consisting of highschool students from Tyrol, chose this film because it takes a detailed look at the position of women in traditional and very conservative societies: “The film shows how a young girl, against all odds, gets her way, using humour, creativity, and charm. The director managed to find powerful images, going beyond stereotypes, thereby taking a close and comprehensive look at a complex reality. We are very happy to present the Südwind-Award 2012 to Haifi al-Mansour and her outstanding film WADJDA.”
The film broaches the issue of a forbidden topic – women and riding a bicycle. Al-Mansour is the first female director from Saudi-Arabia. The Südwind Filmpreis amounts to 1.000€.