I am Not a Witch

Cert: 12A; Now showing, IFI

Tourists get off a bus in Zambia and are shown a witch camp, a group of mostly older women attached to huge spools of ribbon. The spools are an invention of Welsh-Zambian writer-director Rungano Nyoni. The witch camps are not.

Women accused of witchcraft, whether through genuine superstition or simple malice, can be despatched to these camps where they are essentially used as slave labour. It is this aspect rather than superstition that Rungano Nyoni focuses on in her fascinating and occasionally surrealistic satire.

From the tourists the film switches straight to the incredible face of Shula (Maggie Mulubwa) an eight-year-old orphan who is accused of being a witch. A sceptical police officer nonetheless calls in local government official Mr Banda (Henry B.J. Phiri) who takes Shula to a witch camp, attaches her to her ribbon and offers her the choice to cut it and become a goat or stay and be a witch.

The older women take her under their wing while Banda tries out different ways to make Shula into a money spinner.

It’s very local but the satire applies globally — the need to exclude, the need to belong and the need to exploit. It is beautifully shot by David Gallego, and the director throws every trick at the film. Some work better than others but it feels brave and original and energetic. The characters are very one-dimensional and the narrative is a bit too jumpy but while not for everyone it is accessible and surprisingly light.