I AM NOT A WITCH

Nine-year-old Shula (Margaret Mulubwa) is accused of witchcraft after a trivial incident and banished to a witch camp run by a corrupt, incompetent government official. Like the old women there, Shula is tied to a spool of white ribbon and told that she will turn into a goat if she tries to escape. She soon becomes a tourist attraction that everyone around her wants to profit from. Rungano Nyoni’s “I Am Not a Witch” (Zambia 2017) tells this as a satirical fairy tale set in present-day Zambia, based on the real experiences of women accused of witchcraft there.

Nyoni’s feature debut, a co-production between the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Zambia, premiered in the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in Cannes in May 2017 and won the BAFTA for outstanding debut. The film combines visual invention with sharp social critique of the clash between tradition and modernity. In 2017, “I Am Not a Witch” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin.

Shown at the 2017 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2017 · Film Archive