I Am Not a Witch (2017)
There is a particular kind of film that arrives with little fanfare, plays a handful of festivals, and then quietly refuses to leave your head for weeks afterwards. Rungano Nyoni's I Am Not a Witch (2017) is very much one of those films. The premise draws from a grim, present-day reality: witch camps, where women and children accused of witchcraft are sent to live and labour under government supervision, exist in several African countries, including Ghana and Zambia. Nyoni, who was born in Zambia and raised in Wales, uses this setting not to lecture but to construct something stranger and more unsettling, a kind of satirical fable that sits at the intersection of social realism and dark absurdism. The film's cultural backdrop asks uncomfortable questions about how superstition, bureaucracy, and exploitation can reinforce one another, and how the most vulnerable people tend to be the ones left paying the price. For another film that examines traditional societies pressing down hard on a young woman, Denis Lavant aside, it is worth pairing this with Mustang, Deniz Gamze Ergüven's 2015 film about five sisters in rural Turkey, which covers similar thematic ground from a very different geographical and tonal angle.
Nyoni made I Am Not a Witch as her debut feature, having previously directed the short film Mwansa the Great (2011), which was Zambia's first submission to the Academy Awards in the foreign-language category. The feature arrived through a co-production spanning France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Zambia, with Soda Pictures handling UK distribution alongside several smaller production partners. It was a modest affair by any commercial measure, and all the more confident for it. The film earned Nyoni the BAFTA for Outstanding British Debut in 2018, which is a fairly remarkable thing for a first feature, and helped establish her as one of the more interesting new voices working in British and international cinema. Those interested in how festival-circuit films from non-Western countries reach British audiences might also find Utama a worthwhile companion piece, another slow, quietly political film about an indigenous community under pressure, this one set in the Bolivian highlands.
The film rests almost entirely on the performance of Maggie Mulubwa, a non-professional actress who was around eight years old during production. She plays Shula, a child who finds herself absorbed into the strange bureaucratic machinery of a witch camp after an accusation that is, to put it plainly, barely worth the breath it takes to make. Alongside Mulubwa, Henry B.J. Phiri plays a local government official whose role in Shula's life carries a particular kind of polished but unremarkable cruelty, the sort that comes not from malice exactly but from indifference dressed up as procedure. Gloria Huwiler, Nellie Munamonga, and Dyna Mufuni make up part of the camp's community, grounding the stranger, more heightened elements of the film in something recognisably human. The ensemble has its rough edges, as you might expect from a production working largely outside the professional acting circuit, but those rough edges are often part of what makes the world feel real rather than constructed. Films that deal honestly with injustice inflicted on children and women within specific cultural frameworks, such as Jaha's Promise, a documentary from the same year, make for genuinely challenging but necessary viewing alongside this one.
Rungano Nyoni’s 2017 film I Am Not a Witch is a genuinely eye-opening piece of cinema. The premise is as frustrating as it is fascinating: a young girl named Shula, played with remarkable naturalism by newcomer Maggie Mulubwa, is deemed a witch by her village for incredibly obtuse, almost laughable reasons. Consequently, she is condemned to a life of hard labour in a government-run "witch camp", forced to wear a long ribbon and perform menial tasks for the amusement of tourists and local officials. It seems absolutely wild that such archaic practices can still happen in the modern world, but Nyoni shines a bright, necessary light on this grim reality, making it a deeply educational and sobering watch.
Watching Shula navigate this bizarre, exploitative system, I couldn't help but draw comparisons to Robert Eggers’ The Witch, where a young girl is similarly accused of witchcraft and completely ostracised by her family and community. However, where Eggers went for full-blown, atmospheric historical horror, Nyoni opts for a sharp, satirical social commentary on superstition and outdated practices in contemporary Zambia. The acting across the board is a bit of a mixed bag; while some of the supporting cast feels a tad amateurish and stiff, Mulubwa is an absolute revelation. She anchors the film with a quiet, devastating strength that keeps you entirely invested in her plight, proving she can carry a feature film with absolute ease.
What really elevates the picture, though, is how Nyoni takes you on an emotional rollercoaster. The film balances a dark, almost absurd sense of humour with a deeply poignant critique of corruption and societal exploitation, leaving you with a thoroughly mixed bag of emotions as you watch this child navigate a world determined to use her. It builds steadily toward a finale that is undeniably tragic, hitting you right in the gut just when you think there might be a sliver of hope for the poor girl. Ultimately, it’s a brilliant, thought-provoking film that lingers long after the credits roll.
I Am Not a Witch is a cracking, socially vital piece of cinema that uses a deeply unsettling premise to deliver a powerful, unforgettable punch.
I Am Not a Witch is the kind of debut that makes you immediately curious about what comes next from its director, and Nyoni has continued to work, though with the careful pace of someone not in any rush to repeat herself. The film is not an easy watch, and it was never trying to be, but it earns its difficulty honestly, rooting its stranger, more fable-like qualities in a social reality that deserves attention. At 93 minutes it does not overstay its welcome, and Mulubwa's performance alone makes it worth your time. Some films leave you with answers; this one leaves you with a ribbon, a small girl, and a fairly large knot in your stomach. That is probably the point.
Rating: ★★★½ | Year: 2017 | Watched: 2026-06-25
Trailer
▶ Watch the official trailer for I Am Not a Witch (2017) on YouTube
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