The Zambian film “I am not a witch”

[Movie goer]

Dear Zambia,

Amazon.com Product Description

**BAFTA AWARD WINNER AND THE UK'S OFFICIAL SUBMISSION FOR BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM TO THE ACADEMY AWARDS**
**INVITED TO OVER 50 FILM FESTIVALS, INCLUDING CANNES, SUNDANCE, AND TORONTO**
**CERTIFIED FRESH ON ROTTEN TOMATOES (97%)**

In her BAFTA award-winning debut feature, Rungano Nyoni crafts a satiric feminist fairy-tale set in present-day Zambia. When 9-year old orphan Shula is accused of witchcraft, she is exiled to a witch camp run by Mr. Banda, a corrupt and inept government official. Tied to the ground by a white ribbon, Shula is told that she will turn into a goat if she tries to escape. As the only child witch, Shula quickly becomes a local star and the adults around her exploit her supposed powers for financial gain. Soon she is forced to make a difficult decision whether to resign herself to life on the camp, or take a risk for freedom. A hit at over 50 international festivals, I AM NOT A WITCH is a must-see for anyone interested in new African Cinema and contemporary female filmmakers.

Bonus features include interview with director Rungano Nyoni and short film, MWANSA THE GREAT, directed by Rungano Nyoni.

Review
Winner - Outstanding Debut - BAFTA Film Awards
Official Selection - Director's Fortnight - Cannes Film Festival
Official Selection - Sundance Film Festival
Winner - Best Director - British Independent Film Award
Winner - Best Directorial Debut - Stockholm Film Festival
Winner - Jury Prize - San Francisco Int'l. Film Festival
Winner - Best Int'l. Feature - Adelaide Film Festival
Special Mention - Mumbai Int'l. Film Festival
Nominated - Best Int'l. Film - Independent Spirit Awards - ---

Possibly the year's most audacious film debut, I AM NOT A WITCH has won numerous awards, including Britain's BAFTA for best first feature, and to see it is to understand why...Written and directed by Zambian-born, Wales-raised Rungano Nyoni, this smart and savage satire is impressive for the way it joins a dramatically involving story with a Swiftian tale of human society in general and Africa culture and customs in particular… Beguiling...wickedly smart. - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

Beautiful and unsettling...It is a remarkable, strange and politically potent first film. --Michael O'Sullivan, The Washington Post

Sharply observed, symbolically astute...Nyoni's frank, confrontational style is both derisive and empathetic; she extracts powerful symbolic images from the oppressive environment...Short word on a remarkable movie opening today, I AM NOT A WITCH, Rungano Nyoni's first feature; also, the images of ribbons and huge spools on the truck are among the most striking cinematic objects, both practical and symbolic, that I've seen in a while. - Richard Brody, The New Yorker

Beneath the weight of history, Nyoni's film possesses a wry, sober-minded sense of humor that elicits the pained chuckles of viewers unsure of whether to laugh or cry...[she] paints portraits of implied mysticism with elegance and precision. --Kelley Dong, Film Comment

[Guest]

[quote="Movie goer"]Dear Zambia,

Amazon.com Product Description

**BAFTA AWARD WINNER AND THE UK'S OFFICIAL SUBMISSION FOR BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM TO THE ACADEMY AWARDS**
**INVITED TO OVER 50 FILM FESTIVALS, INCLUDING CANNES, SUNDANCE, AND TORONTO**
**CERTIFIED FRESH ON ROTTEN TOMATOES (97%)**

In her BAFTA award-winning debut feature, Rungano Nyoni crafts a satiric feminist fairy-tale set in present-day Zambia. When 9-year old orphan Shula is accused of witchcraft, she is exiled to a witch camp run by Mr. Banda, a corrupt and inept government official. Tied to the ground by a white ribbon, Shula is told that she will turn into a goat if she tries to escape. As the only child witch, Shula quickly becomes a local star and the adults around her exploit her supposed powers for financial gain. Soon she is forced to make a difficult decision whether to resign herself to life on the camp, or take a risk for freedom. A hit at over 50 international festivals, I AM NOT A WITCH is a must-see for anyone interested in new African Cinema and contemporary female filmmakers.

Bonus features include interview with director Rungano Nyoni and short film, MWANSA THE GREAT, directed by Rungano Nyoni.

Review
Winner - Outstanding Debut - BAFTA Film Awards
Official Selection - Director's Fortnight - Cannes Film Festival
Official Selection - Sundance Film Festival
Winner - Best Director - British Independent Film Award
Winner - Best Directorial Debut - Stockholm Film Festival
Winner - Jury Prize - San Francisco Int'l. Film Festival
Winner - Best Int'l. Feature - Adelaide Film Festival
Special Mention - Mumbai Int'l. Film Festival
Nominated - Best Int'l. Film - Independent Spirit Awards - ---

Possibly the year's most audacious film debut, I AM NOT A WITCH has won numerous awards, including Britain's BAFTA for best first feature, and to see it is to understand why...Written and directed by Zambian-born, Wales-raised Rungano Nyoni, this smart and savage satire is impressive for the way it joins a dramatically involving story with a Swiftian tale of human society in general and Africa culture and customs in particular… Beguiling...wickedly smart. - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

Beautiful and unsettling...It is a remarkable, strange and politically potent first film. --Michael O'Sullivan, The Washington Post

Sharply observed, symbolically astute...Nyoni's frank, confrontational style is both derisive and empathetic; she extracts powerful symbolic images from the oppressive environment...Short word on a remarkable movie opening today, I AM NOT A WITCH, Rungano Nyoni's first feature; also, the images of ribbons and huge spools on the truck are among the most striking cinematic objects, both practical and symbolic, that I've seen in a while. - Richard Brody, The New Yorker

Beneath the weight of history, Nyoni's film possesses a wry, sober-minded sense of humor that elicits the pained chuckles of viewers unsure of whether to laugh or cry...[she] paints portraits of implied mysticism with elegance and precision. --Kelley Dong, Film Comment[/quote]