Netflix is already looking ahead to its 2019 awards slate by picking up Chiwetel Ejiofor’s directorial debut The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Ejiofor penned the script passed on the book by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer about a 13-year-old Kamkwamba who, after being thrown out of school when his family could no longer afford the fees, still found a way to build a windmill that saved his Malawian village from famine.

That sounds like an incredible story, and I’m eager to see what Ejiofor does behind the camera. He’s already shown he’s one of the best actors of his generation, and he’s worked with some incredibly talented directors over the course of his career.

As for Netflix, the streaming giant hasn’t announced a released date yet, but the press release says, “The film will launch in 2019 on Netflix and in select theaters in the US and UK”, which indicates that they think it might be worthy of some awards, so they want to give it a qualifying run in theaters.

We’ll let you know when The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind has a release date. The film also stars Maxwell Simba, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Aïssa Maïga, Lily Banda, Lemogang Tsipa, Philbert Falakeza, and Noma Dumezweni.

Here’s the official synopsis for The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind:

Adapted from the bestselling book by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind follows 13-year-old William Kamkwamba (newcomer Maxwell Simba) who is thrown out of the school he loves when his family can no longer afford the fees. Sneaking back into the school library, he finds a way, using the bones of the bicycle belonging to his father Trywell (Chiwetel Ejiofor), to build a windmill which then saves his Malawian village from famine. The emotional journey of a father and his exceptional son at its heart, William’s tale captures the incredible determination of a boy whose inquisitive mind overcame every obstacle in his path.

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