The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- William Kamkwamba (Maxwell Simba) is a thirteen-year-old boy who lives in a village in Malawi suffering from severe drought and famine. He is the first of his family to attend secondary school but is thrown out because his family can no longer afford to pay the fees. When he sees the suffering of his family and his village, he sneaks back into his school's library and learns how to build a windmill and saves his family and his village from starvation.
- Actors:
- Chiwetel Ejiofor, Maxwell Simba, Felix Lemburo, Robert Agego, Fiskan Makawa, Lily Banda, Aïssa Maïga, Fredrick Lukhere, Hestingzi Phiri, Rophium Banda, Philbert Falakeza, Samson Kambalu, Raymond Ofula, Noma Dumezweni, Lemogang Tsipa, Joseph Marcell, Martin Githinji, Melvin Alusa, Amos Chimpokoser, Kelvin Maxwell Ngoma
- Directors:
- Chiwetel Ejiofor
- Producers:
- Andrea Calderwood, Gail Egan
- Writers:
- Chiwetel Ejiofor, William Kamkwamba, Bryan Mealer
- Genres:
- Children & Family, Drama
- Collections:
- Cinema Paradiso's Euro 24 Film Festival, Films & TV by topic
- Awards:
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Reviews (1) of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Hope Engineered - The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind review by griggs
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is a quietly moving directorial debut from Chiwetel Ejiofor, who directs and stars in this true story set during Malawi's 2001 famine. It's not a flashy film, but it's sincere—and that sincerity carries it.
The film's strongest when it focuses on the father-son relationship, which forms the film's emotional core: prickly, proud, and ultimately redemptive. Ejiofor's performance lends real weight, while Maxwell Simba effectively conveys William's quiet determination. The final act—when the windmill finally spins—is properly affecting, even if the build-up is a bit too neat.
It's a story about the power of education, especially in places where it's hardest to reach. And how sometimes it takes a kid to remind the adults what's possible. It didn't blow me away, but it did make me care—and that's more than enough.