The Boy Behind the Wardrobe: The Story of Winston Wicomb's primary photo
  • The Boy Behind the Wardrobe: The Story of Winston Wicomb (2026)
  • 123 min | Documentary
The Boy Behind the Wardrobe: The Story of Winston Wicomb (2026)
123 min | Documentary
Set against the backdrop of apartheid-era South Africa, this film chronicles the extraordinary life of Winston Wicomb. Born into a mixed-race family classified as white, Winston is forced to hide from society due to his darker complexion. ...See moreSet against the backdrop of apartheid-era South Africa, this film chronicles the extraordinary life of Winston Wicomb. Born into a mixed-race family classified as white, Winston is forced to hide from society due to his darker complexion. Excluded from white schools, white privilege, and even his white family, his white status ironically earns him an army conscription where, through sheer guts, he rises to the rank of Corporal. With a fierce drive to escape the constraints of Apartheid and carve out a life for himself and his first love, Jeanne, Winston works as a backyard Volkswagen Mechanic, gives driving lessons, and harvests eyes from human corpses... to pay his own way through the University of Cape Town (UCT) and finally graduates with a BSc Degree in 1977. A chance meeting with the legendary Dr Christiaan Barnard leads the famous surgeon to appoint young and inexperienced Winston - quite irrationally - as the head of his research laboratory. Winston's first assignment? To construct an apparatus with which to transport living hearts. Drawing on every life experience thus far, Winston Wicomb produces a pioneering innovation and on one stormy night, on a rickety flight from Gqeberha to Cape Town, manages to keep a heart alive for 16 hours - making medical history. Written by Maretia Wiggett See less
Read more: Plot summary
Director
Albert Maritz (director)
Producer
Maretia Wiggett (producer)
Composer
Pierre-Henri Wicomb (composer)
Cinematographer
Ansurette Pretorius (cinematographer)
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Status
Edit Completed
Updated Feb 27, 2026
Release date
2026 (South Africa)
Awards
1 win

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