The Wound / Inxeba

Boys in South Africa have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in an initiation ritual and transform into young men. They set off from the modern cities to a tribe living in isolation in the mountains. Kwanda, a boy from a rich family, is to undergo the ritual this time round. Xolani has been chosen as his guardian, to help him through such a momentous event in his life and to look after the boy when he needs it. But the boy's identity interferes with Xolani's life too much. It is becoming increasingly more difficult for Xolani to hide the true reason for his return, which is not his loyalty to the tribe or the financial reward for the guardianship: there's somebody who draws him back year after year. There is, however, no place for love between two men in the homophobic environment. Xolani's ward, therefore, offers an alternative, illustrating a change which offers a happy ending.