The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

Set in rural Malawi, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind follows William Kamkwamba, a thirteen-year-old whose family can no longer afford his school fees. Kept out of class, he secretly borrows books from the school library and learns how a windmill can generate electricity. Drawing on that knowledge, and on parts salvaged from his father's bicycle, he sets out to build a machine that could bring water to the fields and spare his family and neighbours from hunger. His father Trywell, who once missed his own chance at further education, struggles with his son's plans before coming to see their worth.

The film is Chiwetel Ejiofor's first as director, and he also wrote the screenplay and plays Trywell. Maxwell Simba takes the lead role, with Aïssa Maïga as Agnes Kamkwamba, Lily Banda as Annie Kamkwamba, Joseph Marcell as Chief Wembe and Lemogang Tsipa as Mike Kachigunda among a credited cast of forty-three. It was made by BBC Film, Participant, the BFI and Potboiler Productions, with Andrea Calderwood and Gail Egan producing, and draws on the book William Kamkwamba wrote with Bryan Mealer.

Released in 2019, the drama runs 113 minutes. On IMDb it holds 7.6 out of 10 from around 51,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.9 from just under 2,000. A critics' rating of 7.3 from 66 reviews places it close to the audience scores, and Ejiofor's next film as director, Rob Peace, followed in 2024.