In an educational program, it is important for individuals to voice their thoughts, ideas, and perspectives freely. However, sometimes misconceptions or false accusations can arise, leading to misunderstandings and the misrepresentation of individuals. One such example is the notion of someone being labeled as a witch. In this case, it is crucial to emphasize that just because someone is different or holds unique beliefs, it does not mean that they are a witch. The main idea to highlight is that it is essential to promote tolerance, respect, and understanding, rather than perpetuating stereotypes and stigmas. By encouraging open-mindedness and accepting others for who they are, individuals can foster a more inclusive and harmonious educational environment.
Unfolding at a Zambian “witch camp” where wayward women and their mysterious powers are held responsible for all the wrongs in the world, Nyoni’s swaggeringly assured debut walks the line between inspired lunacy and abject devastation. Screening this weekend as part of the Boston Women’s Film Festival and then throughout the month of October at the MFA, “I Am Not a Witch” is one of this year’s very best films — a blast of absurdist outrage that’s seriously funny until all of the sudden it’s not anymore.
This foolishness is the necessary disordered affection and disposition which assures a continued transfer of personal ownership and capacity out of the hands of the techno-barbarian and the witch and into the hands of the rulers of this world and spirits of the air, respectively. Having moved at the age of eight from Lusaka to Cardiff, where her social-worker mother remarried a white Englishman, Nyoni feels rooted in both cultures.
By encouraging open-mindedness and accepting others for who they are, individuals can foster a more inclusive and harmonious educational environment. It is essential to educate students about the importance of empathy and empathy towards people with different backgrounds, beliefs, and practices. This enables them to challenge stereotypes, combat discrimination, and create positive relationships with their peers.
I Am Not a Witch: ‘We’re in a time when it’s fashionable to get black female directors’
Welsh-Zambian director Rungano Nyoni has made a splash with her debut feature, a joyfully feminist and satirical story about a nine-year-old exiled to a ‘witch camp’. But, as she tells Stephen Dalton, in this industry she’s taking nothing for granted.
18 October 2017
I Am Not a Witch (2017)I Am Not a Witch, backed with National Lottery funding through the BFI Film Fund, played in the First Feature Competition in the 61st BFI London Film Festival.
The most dazzling British debut feature of 2017, Rungano Nyoni’s I Am Not a Witch is a highly original mix of magical realist drama, deadpan satire and feminist allegory. Set in Zambia, it follows the tragicomic fate of Shula, a nine-year-old misfit exiled to a ‘witch camp’ by superstitious neighbours and crooked bureaucrats. Amazingly, many such camps really exist in parts of Africa, although Nyoni’s fictionalised version is mostly a surrealist fantasy.
Premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, I Am Not a Witch is visually stunning and surprisingly funny. Born in Zambia but raised in Wales, 35-year-old writer-director Nyoni insists the film’s bittersweet humour is both very Zambian and very Welsh, much like herself. “It’s very dry, there is no PC , no boundaries,” Nyoni nods. “It can seem cruel to somebody from the outside, but to us it’s hilarious.”
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Having moved at the age of eight from Lusaka to Cardiff, where her social-worker mother remarried a white Englishman, Nyoni feels rooted in both cultures. “In Africa I’m an African director,” she says. “In Cannes I was a Zambian director, they didn’t even acknowledge the British part. But I definitely feel Welsh-Zambian, if that’s a thing.”
A British-French co-production majority funded by the BFI and FilmFour, I Am Not a Witch features a mostly non-professional cast from all over Zambia. Nyoni’s greatest discovery is Maggie Mulubwa, who plays Shula. The baby-faced nine-year-old debutante’s performance is hugely charming and potentially life-changing, as it paved her way to full-time education.
“We got her a tutor on set and realised she hadn’t gone to school before, she hadn’t even held a pen,” Nyoni recalls. “So I did a fundraising page to take her to school, and now BFI and FilmFour are going to fund her education until she’s about 18. She has already surpassed everyone else in her family, even just after nearly a year of school. On the set she couldn’t speak a word of English, but by Cannes in May she was fluent. And she doesn’t shut up!”
To research her film, Nyoni spent several weeks in a real witch camp in Ghana, where such communities are more established than in Zambia. The population mostly consisted of women over 70, who are ostensibly under government protection but also exploited for their labour. Their reasons for ending up in the camp were various, but most had been denounced as witches by neighbours or family members.
Rungano Nyoni“With some of them it was to do with jealousy,” Nyoni explains. “Some woman had had a successful business so someone accused her of being a witch. The most vulnerable people are widows. Zambia’s actually matriarchal but Ghana’s very patriarchal, and you feel it there. Women can’t own land, you have to own it through a man, all this stuff. So if you are widowed and someone wants your house, they just have to accuse you of being a witch to get rid of you. It’s enough to just accuse someone.”
I Am Not a Witch is clearly less interested in exploring the questionable veracity of witchcraft than in exposing the very real black magic of misogyny. The script began with Nyoni musing on power structures and how oppressed groups sometimes end up colluding in them.
“I grew up with a family of really tough women who had to break bigger barriers than I ever had to,” she says. “I just wondered how they managed that, and how I can’t do small things because I’m thinking about either being a women or being black or knowing my place. Why am I going along with these unsaid rules? So the film ended up being about misogyny because I realised that misogyny has its own set of rules, and in Africa it comes out in this format.”
I Am Not a Witch (2017)If that subtext sounds dauntingly dour, rest assured I Am Not a Witch is the least worthy, most joyful feminist film you will see all year. While Nyoni is a fan of Michael Haneke’s scowlingly serious aesthetic, she also believes the most effective message movies engage and amuse their audience.
“I am very conscious of how people receive the information, without trying to please them but trying to make them understand what I’m saying,” she explains. “It’s also about how I respond to other people’s films. If it’s preachy I just stop listening. It could be the most important true life story, but if it’s being hammered to me I just blank out.”
I Am Not a Witch has earned Nyoni festival prizes and interest from production companies, but she still fears the film’s warm reception may become a fleeting novelty, her gender and skin colour ticking tokenistic diversity boxes in an industry that’s still very white and male. Nyoni’s partner, Gabriel Gauchet, is a fellow director who, she says, has an easier time in the film business simply because he is a “white dude”.
“We are in a time when it’s fashionable to get black female directors, and that’s great,” Nyoni shrugs, “but will it last enough for me to make my next film? Apparently I’m only the fifth or sixth black British woman to have a film released in the cinema. My mum brought me up to be just like everybody else, not to be a black or a woman or anything, but she advised me: ‘if you’re struggling just say it! Use the race card! Just front it until you get what you want!’ Ha! We’re not there yet, thank god.”
The reason for ditching the allures of witching is simply that witches have the unfortunate effect of causing witch-hunts, and I believe witch-hunts to be unconscionably bad. Saint Thomas Aquinas says that magic is unlawful “because the means it employs for acquiring knowledge have not in themselves the power to cause science, consisting as they do in gazing at certain shapes, and muttering certain strange words, and so forth.” In short, the evil of magic consists in its separation of effects from their causes. It seems harmless enough: I employ a means for assuring financial success which has not in itself the power for assuring financial success — say, boiling a frog. But let’s take another historical example of separating cause and effect: The mob employs a means for determining the guilt of a woman which has not in itself the power to determine the guilt of that woman — by dunking her in water. Here, we recoil. The evil of witchcraft is recognized in the witch-hunt and denied in the case of the particular witch — but the practice of the particular witch is simply the habitual preparation necessary for joining in a witch-hunt.
By shaping a culture of inclusivity and promoting dialogue, the educational program ensures that everyone feels valued, respected, and welcomed..
Reviews for "Healing with Herbs: Teaching Botany and Natural Remedies in Education"
1. John - 1/5 stars - "I am not a witch in an educational program" was a complete waste of my time. The concept of the show was confusing and poorly executed. The storyline lacked depth and failed to engage the audience. Moreover, the acting was amateurish, making it difficult to invest in any of the characters. Overall, I found the show to be pointless and frustratingly boring.
2. Sarah - 2/5 stars - Despite its promising premise, "I am not a witch in an educational program" fell flat for me. The educational aspect was too heavy-handed and felt forced, taking away from the entertainment value. Additionally, the pacing of the show was inconsistent, with moments of dullness followed by rushed plot developments. The writing was weak, and the dialogue often felt forced and unnatural. While there were a few redeeming qualities, such as the visuals, it was not enough to salvage the overall disappointment I felt while watching.
3. Michael - 1/5 stars - I found "I am not a witch in an educational program" to be highly uninteresting. The plot lacked originality and failed to hold my attention. The educational elements felt forced and out of place, making the show feel more like a lecture than an entertaining program. The characters were underdeveloped and lacked depth, making it difficult to connect with their stories. Overall, this show was a letdown and did not meet my expectations. I would not recommend it to others.
4. Emily - 2/5 stars - While the concept of "I am not a witch in an educational program" seemed intriguing, the execution left much to be desired. The narrative was confusing and lacked coherence, making it difficult to follow the story. The educational aspect felt forced and often took away from the entertainment value. Additionally, the pacing was inconsistent, with some episodes dragging on while others felt rushed. Overall, I feel that this show had potential but failed to deliver on its promises.