I Am Not a Witch 2018

A serious little girl arrives in a village, and it’s rapidly presumed that she possesses witch-like abilities. When she decides not to confirm or deny her supposed powers, local authorities take it upon themselves to consult a witch doctor, who offerings a sacrificial chicken to deduce her true nature. Assuming she is indeed a witch, the officials confine her alongside a group of elderly women tied to large spools of white ribbon. Among them, she is given the name Shula and is subjected to hard labor.

Shula is then summoned to participate in a trial involving an elderly man’s claim of theft. Despite being uncertain about the identity of the thief, she consults the other witches, whose conflicting advice complicates her task. In a surprising turn of events, Shula manages to correctly identify the culprit, earning her some respect. Meanwhile, a senior government official and his wife take advantage of her situation, coercing her into performing various tasks, such as conjuring rain. Throughout this ordeal, Shula becomes increasingly aware of the prevailing attitudes towards witches and faces threats that loom over her.

Her journey takes a twist when, after appearing on a chat show where someone questions her schooling, she is enrolled in a school. Here, she meets others who, like her, have been dismissed from typical educational settings. However, Shula’s respite is short-lived; a witch doctor and a farmer forcefully remove her from school, demanding her to enact a rain dance. Exhausted from her efforts to fulfill their wishes, she confesses to her fellow witches that she longs to have become a goat instead of enduring this torment. Later, during the night, she is seen stealthily gathering her ribbon and preparing to escape.

The following morning brings a grim discovery as two men discard a body in a field, and the other witches mourn for Shula, although it remains unclear if the body indeed belongs to her. As they grieve, an unexpected downpour occurs. The truck that usually transports the women is now empty, and the ribbons that once bound them are left free to flutter in the wind, while in the distance, the sound of a goat bleating echoes.