A shapeshifting documentary by Elizabeth Sankey that casts an immediate spell as it explores the portrayal of witchcraft in cinema.
Fictional images of unruly and magical womanhood gradually give way to Sankey’s experience with postpartum depression – a harrowing personal journey on which she’s joined by a chorus of women who have undergone similar trials. Their powerful testimonies provide confirmation that seemingly inexplicable feelings and urges are indeed very real, something to be discussed and shared rather than demonized.
Despite its inclusion in FilmFear, Witches stands some distance removed from the horror genre and standard documentaries about movies. Sankey draws on the conventions of both to provide viewers with a common language and a shared frame of reference to help them understand and empathise with the specifics of the stories shared in her remarkable film.
Courtesy of MUBI