Institute History
Description
Lonely, young factory worker Xolani travels to a remote mountain camp to tend teenage boys going through a traditional Xhola rite of passage. This year, Xolani is assigned to mentor Kwanda, a coddled Joburg boy who challenges the customs of the camp and is ostracized from other initiates. Kwanda, observant as he is insolent, quickly notices the attraction between Xolani and his fellow caregiver, volatile Vija. Xolani must choose between his passionate love for his childhood friend and heeding Kwanda’s exhortations to abandon his oppressive life and face an uncertain future.
In his first feature, director/co-writer John Trengove provides an unexpected glimpse into a secretive male-only cultural ritual fighting for relevance in an increasingly westernized world and orchestrates a complex, dynamic examination of sexuality, masculinity, and the clash between traditional and contemporary African values. Set “outside of society” in the Eastern Cape, The Wound’s exploration of the panic when one’s very identity is threatened makes for a universal and potent movie, as its protagonists grapple with conflicting conceptions of how to be a man.