The Wound

A traditional rite of passage ritual forms the backdrop for this tough and complex tale of closeted sexuality in South Africa.

In the remote mountains of South Africa’s Eastern Cape, a traditional and painful rite of passage ritual forms the backdrop for this powerful exploration of masculinity and unspoken queer desire. Factory worker Xolani is tasked with guiding Kwanda, a petulant adolescent, through this coming-of-age experience. But as the days pass, Kwanda begins to suspect Xolani might be hiding something.

Privileging a need for cultural authenticity, director John Trengove worked with a cast of exclusively native Xhosa speakers, many of whom are non-actors. The result is a visually breathtaking, thematically complex meditation on the wounds that exist on the surface and those deeper scars that never truly heal.