The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019), directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor, is a powerful and deeply moving film based on the true story of William Kamkwamba, a young boy from Malawi whose determination and ingenuity changed the fate of his entire village. Set against the backdrop of economic hardship and environmental disaster, the film captures the harsh realities faced by rural communities struggling to survive in a time of severe drought.
William, a bright and curious student, has a passion for learning and a natural talent for science. However, his education is abruptly interrupted when his family can no longer afford his school fees. Despite this setback, William refuses to give up on his dream of understanding how the world works. He spends hours in the local library, teaching himself about physics, energy, and electricity. It is there that he discovers an idea that will later become a beacon of hope for his people — the concept of generating power through wind energy.
As the drought worsens, crops fail, and food becomes scarce, despair spreads throughout the community. William’s father, Trywell, portrayed with emotional depth by Ejiofor himself, struggles to keep the family afloat while grappling with his own pride and skepticism about his son’s unconventional ideas. Yet William’s unwavering belief in science and his desire to help his family drive him to take bold action. Using discarded bicycle parts, broken machinery, and bits of scrap metal, he sets out to construct a windmill capable of pumping water from the ground to irrigate their fields.