I Am Not a Witch

I Am Not a Witch
British release poster
Directed by Rungano Nyoni
Produced by Juliette Grandmont
Emily Morgan
Written by Rungano Nyoni
Starring Maggie Mulubwa
Music by Matthew James Kelly
Cinematography David Gallego
Edited by George Cragg
Yann Dedet
Thibault Hague
Distributed by Artificial Eye (United Kingdom)
Release date
  • 25 May 2017 (2017-05-25) (Cannes)
  • 20 October 2017 (2017-10-20) (UK)
Running time
 93 minutes
Country United Kingdom
France
Germany
Zambia
Language English
Bemba
Box office $141,043[1]

I Am Not a Witch is a 2017 internationally co-produced drama film written and directed by Rungano Nyoni in her feature debut film. It was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for Nyoni and producer Emily Morgan at the 71st British Academy Film Awards.[2][3][4] It was selected as the British entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards.[5][6]

Plot

In Zambia, an eight-year-old girl is sent to a witches' camp after a banal incident at her local village.

Cast

  • Maggie Mulubwa as Shula
  • Nellie Munamonga as Police Officer
  • Dyna Mufuni as Leader
  • Nancy Murilo as Charity

Production

Writer-director Rungano Nyoni was inspired by actual stories of witchcraft accusations in Zambia. In her research for the film, she traveled to Ghana and spent time in a real witch camp, observing her daily life and rituals.[7][8]

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 37 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10.[9]

Mark Kermode from The Observer gave the film four out of five stars, praising Nyoni's work, David Gallego's cinematography and Mulubwa's performance and wrote: "Rungano Nyoni’s debut feature, the story of a girl in Zambia accused of witchcraft, is comic, tragic – and captivatingly beautiful"[7] Jessica Kiang from Variety, also praised Gallego’s cinematography and stated: "Nyoni’s approach may itself be a little too chaotic, and a little too oblique to be fully comprehensible (in particular her counterpointing music cues can overreach, and some of the narrative ellipses confuse). But in the investigation of the dichotomies of ancient and modern, familiar and alien, prosaic and mystical, she clearly has a great deal she wants to say, and now, thanks to this invigorating, intriguing and provocative debut, she has a whole career ahead of her in which to say it".[10]

Anna Smith, writing for Time Out, gave I Am Not a Witch four out of five stars, calling it a "impressively, debut writer-director Rungano Nyoni makes this heady mix work".[11] Stephen Dalton from The Hollywood Reporter called the film "A winningly original and stylistically fresh debut feature from the young Zambia-born Welsh director Rungano Nyoni, I Am Not a Witch is one of the more buzzy premieres screening in the Directors' Fortnight in Cannes. A fable-like story about a young African girl banished from her village for alleged witchcraft, it blends deadpan humor with light surrealism, vivid visuals and left-field musical choices".[12]

Accolades

I Am Not a Witch gathered several wins and nominations in many important film festivals and film awards, including a win at the 71st British Academy Film Awards for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer and 10 nominations and three wins at the British Independent Film Awards 2017.[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "I am Not a Witch (2017)". The Numbers. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  2. ↑ "Fortnight 2017: The 49th Directors' Fortnight Selection". Directors' Fortnight. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  3. ↑ Keslassy, Elsa (19 April 2016). "Cannes: Juliette Binoche-Gerard Depardieu Drama to Kick Off Directors Fortnight". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  4. ↑ "Rungano Nyoni 'outstanding debut' Bafta for I Am Not A Witch". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  5. ↑ "I Am Not a Witch, Selected as U.K.'s Entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards". Broadway World. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  6. ↑ Mitchell, Robert (22 August 2018). "Oscars: U.K. Selects BAFTA Winner 'I Am Not a Witch' as Foreign-Language Entry". Variety. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  7. 1 2 Kermode, Mark (22 October 2017). "I Am Not a Witch review – magical surrealism". The Observer. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  8. ↑ Aftab, Kaleem (18 October 2017). "I Am Not a Witch director on the modern persecution of witches in Zambia and Ghana". The Independent. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  9. ↑ "I Am Not a Witch (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  10. ↑ Kiang, Jessica (26 May 2017). "Cannes Film Review: 'I Am Not a Witch'". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  11. ↑ Smith, Anna (17 October 2017). "I Am Not a Witch". Time Out London. Time Out Group. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  12. ↑ Dalton, Stephen (25 May 2017). "'I Am Not a Witch': Film Review - Cannes 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  13. ↑ Clarke, Stewart (1 November 2017). "'Lady Macbeth' Tops Nominations for British Independent Film Awards". Variety. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
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