The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind was acquired by Netflix and will be available everywhere except in China, Japan and the UK.
The movie is based on the bestselling book by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, and the film follows 13-year-old boy William, played by Maxwell Simba, who finds a way to save his village in Malawi from famine. The true story was the subject of a documentary that played at SXSW in 2013, William and the Windmill.
Ejiofor wrote the screenplay and plays William’s father in the movie, which was shot in Malawi.
“A global story such as this requires a global platform, and I’m thrilled to be working with Netflix on bringing William’s extraordinary tale of determination and inventiveness to audiences worldwide,” he said.
The film will launch on Netflix in 2019 and will be available in select theaters in the US and the UK.
