First two acts are one of
my favorite dark comedies
of the year -- third act is one
of the most moving tragedies
of '17, and the final few scenes
are spectacularly surreal; the
social satire that 2017 needed.

An extremely confident debut from Rungano Nyoni full of wonder, humour, reflection and tragedy. The film looks wonderful too and cinematographer, David Gallego (Embrace of the Serpent), really makes the most of the sparse Zambian landscape. It cleverly plays with traditional gender politics (and not entirely focused on women) to open discussion about respectability and marriage, lineage and how those accused of witchcraft are so easily discarded and branded for life, based on little more than a hunch. All done without resorting to cliched African poverty porn. This is a director to keep on eye on if this is anything to go by. Highly recommend.

You are now becoming civil witches.

I Am Not a Witch's impeccable composition and brilliantly sparse soundtrack help the film maintain its delicate balance between tragedy and comedy, though it certainly opts for the former toward the end.

Definitely worth a watch.

TIFF 2017: Film #5

A wonderfully surreal and tragic satire. Every scene is full of remarkably bold choices they pay off hugely. This was such a confident and captivating film, that I was genuinely shell shocked to learn that it was a feature debut. I Am Not a Witch is sure to fly under most peoples radars but it deserves the attention of every film fan looking for a profound and counter-intuitive example of original independent filmmaking. I am a mess from the last few frames of this film.

Beautiful, funny and heartbreaking at the same time.

❤️

I liked when the witness told his story to the officer.

rungano nyoni you ripped my heart out and threw it into the sun and i thank you for that. everyone writing tragicomedy...... take notes . thats all i have to say. i’m going to go and cry some more now

Strange, sad and brilliant. Great use of jarring music and the blanched landscape really makes it for me. Selfue scene was horrifying. Such a wonderful debut from Nyoni!!

desperately waiting for rahinnas next album

I can't quite gather my thoughts on this. Certainly an uneasy yet enjoyable experience. I am also in love with the poster, I was drawn to it immediately.

There are no witches in this film. Just a girl and some old women! Disappointing!!

I really don't get all the stuff I've read about this movie that calls it a comedy. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is funnier. This is a harrowing depiction of abuse, irrational paranoia, dangerous "tradition", and exploitation from the first scene. Sickening.

Original, well shot, bizarre, funny, sad, colourful, interesting but ultimately rather unfulfilling this is certainly a film I'd recommend but one I feel I'll get more out of with a second viewing. Great use of The Four Seasons and other soundtrack beats and on the whole this is pleasingly different and I look forward to watching it again.