The Wound

Directed by John Trengove

Produced by Riva Film, ZDF/Arte

A tense, melancholic exploration of hidden desire and cultural conflict set within a traditional Xhosa initiation ritual, where a closeted man's secret is discovered in an environment hostile to his identity.

Eastern Cape, South Africa. A lonely factory worker, Xolani, takes time off his job to assist during an annual Xhosa circumcision initiation into manhood. In a remote mountain camp that is off limits to women, young men, painted in white ochre, recuperate as they learn the masculine codes of their culture. In this environment of machismo and aggression, Xolani cares for a defiant initiate from Johannesburg, Kwanda, who quickly learns Xolani's best kept secret, that he is in love with another man.