Despite the certainty of its title, I Am Not a Witch leaves plenty of room for mystery—and therein lies its magic. Written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Rungano Nyoni, who was born in Zambia and grew up in Wales, the movie follows the fate of Shula (Maggie Mulubwa), a little girl who wanders into a Zambian village one day, all alone, and is accused of being a witch. When government officials intervene, she’s placed with a group of older women who have been similarly ostracized—all of whom have long white ribbons tied to their backs, tethering them to giant spools that supposedly keep them from flying away. While this may sound fantastical, Nyoni depicts the course of events matter-of-factly; in the opening shot, from inside a tourist bus as it approaches a village where the witches are gathered, available for pictures, the camera circumspectly remains inside the vehicle. And yet, just when we have settled into our skepticism—one official in particular (Henry B. J. Phiri) is clearly exploiting the paranoia over Shula’s perceived powers to keep the locals in line and make a little money on the side—slivers of the supernatural slip in. The first time Shula tries to run away, the thin, delicate ribbon seems to yank her back; during a witch doctor’s ritual killing of a chicken, the image freezes on a couple of occasions while the sound continues, suggesting a rip in space and time. Tellingly, the ritual is supposed to reveal if Shula is a witch, depending on whether or not the chicken stays in a circle of chalk, but Nyoni’s camera doesn’t reveal the bird’s fate. The film’s climactic sequence is equally enigmatic, while its final image—once again employing those ethereal ribbons—is a stunner. As a storyteller adept at evoking both the mundane and the metaphysical, Nyoni is a talent to watch.
(9/16/2023)
