The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind(2019)
dir. Chiwetel Ejiofor
A boy builds a windmill from scrap to save his village.
Where to watch: Subscription: Netflix (JustWatch US, checked 2026-10-16); no free or rent option listed. Verify.Letterboxd ↗
In 2001 in Malawi, a drought and a failed harvest hit William Kamkwamba's family, and he is forced to leave school because his father can't pay the fees. He keeps going to the library, reads about windmills, and builds one from scrap to pump water for the village. Based on the true story and the memoir.
Why it’s here
It is a companion to the book (suggested 10-17), and it shows what learning looks like when the school has been taken away. What's punk is a boy who treats a library like a workshop. What's pedagogical is the method: read, try, break, try again. Pairs with Deschooling Society, Lifelong Kindergarten and The Having of Wonderful Ideas. Note: a family drama with starvation and a government that fails the village; the film adds some drama to the real events, and its 'inventor saves the village' arc is the kind of story to talk through with kids.
Where This Film Lives
Read Alongside
Books that share a topic, theme, or setting with this film.
The Girl with the Louding Voice
Abi Daré
A Nigerian girl teaches herself to be heard.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Under the Udala Trees
Chinelo Okparanta
Falling in love in a country that outlaws it.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction
Christopher Alexander et al.
253 patterns for designing a place people can live in.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Ada's Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay
Susan Hood
A violin made from a landfill. A real orchestra.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
Anne Lamott
Write the terrible first draft. One bird at a time.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice
Jessica Gordon Nembhard
The Black co-ops history forgot to teach.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah
Laurie Ann Thompson
One leg. A bike. A whole country to cross.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
Matthew Desmond
Eight families, a landlord, and the eviction machine.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST