I Am Not a Witch: Difference between revisions

| released      = {{Film date|2017|5|25|Cannes|2017|10|20|UK|df=yes}}

| country        = United Kingdom <br>France<br>Germany

'''''I Am Not a Witch''''' is a 2017 British-French drama film written and directed by Rungano Nyoni in her feature debut film. It was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for Nyoni and producer Emily Morgan at the 71st British Academy Film Awards.<ref name="Quinzaine">{{cite web |url=http://www.quinzaine-realisateurs.com/en/fortnight-2017/ |title=Fortnight 2017: The 49th Directors' Fortnight Selection |accessdate=20 April 2017 |work=Quinzaine des Réalisateurs}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/directors-fortnight-lineup-juliette-binoche-gerard-depardieu-1202390797/ |title=Cannes: Juliette Binoche-Gerard Depardieu Drama to Kick Off Directors Fortnight |author=Elsa Keslassy |date=19 April 2016 |accessdate=20 April 2017 |work=Variety}}</ref><ref name="Rungano Nyoni 'outstanding debut' Bafta for I Am Not A Witch">{{cite web|title=Rungano Nyoni 'outstanding debut' Bafta for I Am Not A Witch|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-43108107|website=BBC News|accessdate=22 February 2018}}</ref>

In [[Zambia]], an 8-years old girl is sent to a witches' camp after a banal incident at her local village.

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 28 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10.<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes">{{cite web|title=I AM NOT A WITCH (2017)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_am_not_a_witch/|website=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=22 February 2018}}</ref> Mark Kermode from The Observer gave the film four out of five stars, praising Nyoni's work, David Gallego's cinematography and Mulubwa's performance and wrote: "Rungano Nyoni’s debut feature, the story of a girl in Zambia accused of witchcraft, is comic, tragic – and captivatingly beautiful"<ref name="The Observer">{{cite web|last1=Kermode|first1=Mark|title=I Am Not a Witch review – magical surrealism|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/oct/22/i-am-not-a-witch-review-magical-surrealism-margaret-mulubwa-rungano-nyoni|website=The Observer|accessdate=22 February 2018}}</ref> Jessica Kiang from Variety magazine, also praised Gallego’s cinematography and stated: "Nyoni’s approach may itself be a little too chaotic, and a little too oblique to be fully comprehensible (in particular her counterpointing music cues can overreach, and some of the narrative ellipses confuse). But in the investigation of the dichotomies of ancient and modern, familiar and alien, prosaic and mystical, she clearly has a great deal she wants to say, and now, thanks to this invigorating, intriguing and provocative debut, she has a whole career ahead of her in which to say it".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kiang|first1=Jessica|title=Cannes Film Review: ‘I Am Not a Witch’|url=http://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/i-am-not-a-witch-review-1202426342/|website=Variety|accessdate=22 February 2018}}</ref> Anna Smith writing at Time Out gave ''I Am Not a Witch'' four out of five stars, calling it a "impressively, debut writer-director Rungano Nyoni makes this heady mix work".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Smith|first1=Anna|title=I Am Not a Witch|url=https://www.timeout.com/london/film/i-am-not-a-witch|website=Time Out|accessdate=22 February 2018}}</ref> Stephen Dalton from The Hollywood Reporter called the film "A winningly original and stylistically fresh debut feature from the young Zambia-born Welsh director Rungano Nyoni, I Am Not a Witch is one of the more buzzy premieres screening in the Directors' Fortnight in Cannes. A fable-like story about a young African girl banished from her village for alleged witchcraft, it blends deadpan humor with light surrealism, vivid visuals and left-field musical choices".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Dalton|first1=Stephen|title='I Am Not a Witch': Film Review - Cannes 2017|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/i-am-not-a-witch-review-1007575|website=The Hollywood Reporter|accessdate=22 February 2018}}</ref>

"I Am Not a Witch" gathered several wins and nominations in many important film festivals and film awards, including a win at the 71st British Academy Film Awards for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer and 10 nominations and three wins at the British Independent Film Awards 2017.<ref>{{cite web|title=Awards|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6213284/awards?ref_=tt_awd|website=IMDB|accessdate=22 February 2018}}</ref>