I am Not a Witch

In this extraordinary debut feature by Rungano Nyoni, who was born in Zambia and later immigrated to Wales, a young girl, Shula (Maggie Mulubwa), is accused of witchcraft in her rural village, whose police department forces her to join an “army” of witches organized by the Zambian government. The film follows the misadventures of greedy government official Mr. Banda (Henry B.J. Phiri), the regimented community of the older witches, and stoic Shula, whose story engages us with an intriguing tone, simultaneously humorous and melancholy. Beautifully crafted pictorial cinematography contrasts with a cinéma-verité approach to characters in this satire with surrealist leanings, offering a clever critique of the instrumentalization of spirituality by the state and a candid commentary on the colonial foundations of tourism. I Am Not a Witch screened at Cannes in 2017 and won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Director at the British Academy Film Awards last year.