I Am Not a Witch

In Zambia a nine year old girl called Shula is accused of witchcraft. A woman claims she fell because of her, nobody asks the child anything, and she is sent to a witch camp run by a government official. The women there are anchored to the ground by long white ribbons strapped to their backs, and told they will turn into goats if they run. Shula quickly becomes an attraction shown to tourists. Rungano Nyoni's first film is pitched as satire: the official running the camp appears on television, exhibits the women at events and calls the whole thing development. The ribbon is her invention, and she spent a month at a witch camp in Ghana while preparing the film. It screened at Cannes in 2017 and Nyoni won the BAFTA for outstanding debut. Its difficulty is that the shifts between comedy and tragedy are abrupt and the ending offers no comfort. Who it is for: viewers who follow African cinema and sharp satire. Who it is not for: anyone looking for hope.