I Am Not a Witch

2017 1h 33m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

🔥

98%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

6.9

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 140🍅98%Rotten Tomatoes●80Metacritic★6.9IMDB · 4,411

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Convicted of witchcraft, 8-year-old Shula is brought to live in a penal colony where witches do hard labour in service of the government.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Maggie Mulubwa
Shula
Henry B.J. Phiri
Mr. Banda
Gloria Huwiler
Tourist
Nellie Munamonga
Police Officer
Dyna Mufuni
Leader
Nancy Murilo
Charity
Ritah Mubanga
Sequinned Witch
Chileshe Kalimamukwento
Witness

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Rungano Nyoni
Writers: Rungano Nyoni
Languages: Chichewa; Nyanja
Countries: France, Germany, United Kingdom, Zambia

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 9 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: France, Germany, United Kingdom, Zambia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Rungano Nyoni, shot by David Gallego. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Matthew James Kelly. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Yann Dedet shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Maggie Mulubwa and Henry B.J. Phiri and Gloria Huwiler carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt6213284 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Rungano Nyoni directs. David Gallego behind the camera. Matthew James Kelly scores. Yann Dedet cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in France, Germany, United Kingdom, Zambia. Dialogue in Chichewa; Nyanja.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 9 years ago.
2International production across 4 countries: France, Germany, United Kingdom, Zambia.
3Directed by Rungano Nyoni, shot by David Gallego. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Matthew James Kelly. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Yann Dedet shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Maggie Mulubwa and Henry B.J. Phiri and Gloria Huwiler carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt6213284 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: David Gallego
Original score: Matthew James Kelly
Editing: Yann Dedet
Production design: Nathan Parker
VFX supervisor: Jennifer Eriksson
Sound: Richard Kondal
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: I Am Not a Witch (2017)
Rotten Tomatoes: 98% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 80/100
IMDB rating: 6.9/10 · 4,411 votes
US box office: $50,868

Awards

Won 1 BAFTA Award17 wins & 38 nominations total

Also by

Rungano Nyoni

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Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-11-08
★ 7/10
There’s a lovely scene towards the end of this film where the young “Shula” is secreted inside what looks like a papier-mâché prop from “Five Nights at Freddy’s” where the tourists approach her to discover she is a witch! That rather sums up the approach taken to this eight year old girl by a Zambian society that can’t quite decide whether she is to be burned at the stake or to be commercially exploited by the state. Her predicament all starts when she is tried for witchcraft in a rural court and sentenced to be sent to a camp populated by loads of other witches. Rather than bars and fences, though, this regime makes it’s inmates tie ribbons to themselves and forewarns that should they remove them, they will be turned into a goat! As the story proceeds we face, with her, the sometimes quite ridiculously presented double-standards of a society that is striving to advance in many ways (especially if there are some Kwanza or eggs to be traded) whilst swathes of the traditional population are steeped in fearful superstition. We get a glimpse of a society that is still very structured in terms of age and sex and that adds both to the fun of the film and to it’s sense of the striving for societal progress in the face of many who simply see no need for it, and Maggie Mulubwa’s leading performance is really quite engaging throughout. Vivaldi, too? Well I wasn’t quite so sold on that but then I suppose it helps to highlight a narrative that is full of anachronisms that are sometimes more appreciable than at other times. It’s a bit rough around the edges and not always the most cohesively put together, but it’s quirkiness and the strong effort from Mulubwa wake it well worth ninety minutes.

Production companies