Popular Britsh/Nigerian actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor, recently had his upcoming directorial debut acquired by Netflix. The film “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” is based on the book of the same name by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer. There is no official release date yet for “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind”. However, The film will be available for streaming on Netflix next year. It will also screen in select US and UK cinemas. Netflix now has the global rights to the film, excluding Japan, China, and the UK. The international sales agent of “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” is Cornerstone Films.
“The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” Gets a Global Platform
Chiwetel Ejiofor has starred in several films, including “Half of a Yellow Sun”, and was an Oscar nominee for his performance in the movie “12 Years a Slave”. He wrote the screenplay for “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind”, and to him, this story requires a global platform. After it was announced that Chiwetel would direct the movie, in 2013, not too much was heard in a while. Apparently, he has been working on the movie behind the scenes all the while. “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” was shot in the south-east African country of Malawi last year. It stars Aïssa Maiga, Lily Banda, Lemogang Tsipait, Philbert Falakeza, Joseph Marcell, Noma Dumezweni as well as Chiwetel Ejiofor himself.
It tells the story of the 13-year-old boy, William, with an inquisitive and innovative mind. Due to his parent’s inability to cater for his fees, the school sends William away. He, therefore, sneaks into the school library to read. Based on what he learns, he ends up building the wind turbine that will save his village from famine. It is truly a heartwarming and inspiring story, that will probably be a nice movie for the entire family to watch.