I Am Not a Witch

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I Am Not a Witch

2018

1h 30m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

98%

Tomatometer

84 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Shula is the first child taken to a traveling witch camp, where she is told that should she cut the ribbon and attempt to escape, she will be cursed and transformed into a goat.

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Critics Consensus

I Am Not a Witch approaches real-life injustices with a beguiling blend of sorrow, anger, and humor, marking debuting writer-director Rungano Nyoni as an exciting new talent.

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Kelley Dong

Film Comment Magazine

Oct 30, 2018

Nyoni teases our assumptions of culpability. She paints portraits of implied mysticism with elegance and precision, slowing time and framing the girl as the center of the film's universe-not a witch, but a force to be reckoned with nevertheless.

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Danielle White

Austin Chronicle

Oct 11, 2018

4/5

If you like things to be spelled out, this is not the film for you.

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Matthew Lickona

San Diego Reader

Sep 28, 2018

3/5

Even if writer-director Rungano Nyoni's film were a lesser achievement - less unsettlingly complicated, less bitterly funny, less bluntly sad - it would still have the witch truck, one of the great cinematic images of this or any other year.

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Dave Giannini

InSession Film

Feb 20, 2024

I Am Not A Witch is an absolute gem. Rungano Nyoni is undoubtedly a young talented director who has a great talent to offer. If you are like me, you will be anxiously awaiting her next project.

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Farah Cheded

A Good Movie To Watch

Oct 21, 2023

Told with a matter-of-fact-ness that brings out both the heartbreak and absurdity of the film’s events [...] Appropriately for its subject, there are also touches of magical realism here, notes that elevate the film into something even more complex.

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Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

Sep 16, 2023

3.5/4

...leaves plenty of room for mystery — and therein lies its magic.

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Esra Y

@RT95409318 Mar 15, 2025

An unbelievable form of abusing women and corruption told through tale of an orphan little girl.

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Jim P

@RT08384096 Jun 12, 2024

Wow! What an interesting unusual movie. Who knows what will happen next, or how it will end. This is how movies should be.

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flor l

@Florencel Jan 8, 2023

A touching movie. A mixture of how beliefs, superstitions, and personal gain can be used to ostracize, cast away, and abuse (female) members of a society, where even a child could fall victim off to despair. Unpretentious and beautifully filmed.

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isla s

@RT89656869 Sep 3, 2022

This is a sobering, bleak watch, of course - its a memorable film, not least for the use of ribbon attached to the backs of those accused of witchcraft. Its sad to think that such things may still go on, in certain parts of the world. I would recommend it to anyone interested in it, yes.

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Nov 24, 2021

Nyoni's first film is a portrait of a harrowing reality in which a patriarchal system reigns, even within the popular beliefs that condemn inocent people and acusses them even without reasons to do so.

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Oct 17, 2021

There Is Artistic Merit Buried Within Themes Here On Religion, Oppression & Social Hierarchy. The Story Is However, Pretty Thin On The Ground. It Really Wasn't Satire, It Was More A Farcical Horror On The Deception Built By Idiots Whom Fallen In Love With Their Own Stupidity.

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Synopsis

Shula is the first child taken to a traveling witch camp, where she is told that should she cut the ribbon and attempt to escape, she will be cursed and transformed into a goat.

Director: Rungano Nyoni
Producer: Juliette Grandmont, Emily Morgan
Screenwriter: Rungano Nyoni
Distributor: Film Movement
Production Co: Kinology, Film4
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 7, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 4, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $50.9K
Runtime: 1h 30m

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