Perspective Film Series: The Witch (2015)

Perspective Film Series:

The Witch (2015), dir. Robert Eggers

October 20 | 5:30 PM

2015 | USA / Canada | 92 mins

In 1630 New England, panic and despair take over a farmer, his wife, and their children when their youngest son Samuel suddenly vanishes. The family blames Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), the eldest daughter who was watching the boy at the time of his disappearance. With tensions mounting, the family suspects Thomasin of witchcraft, testing the clan's faith, loyalty, and love to one another.

Both chilling and riveting, Robert Eggers’ The Witch (2015) is a critique of settler colonialism, illustrating the ways in which the isolation and paranoia of early settlers amplified their fears of the unfamiliar and the Other, reflecting the broader violence and displacement wrought by colonial expansion.

Disclaimer: This film contains difficult subject matter and imagery, including depictions of violence, which may be triggering for some viewers.

--

The 2024 edition of Perspective is curated by Muriel N. Kahwagi, Assistant Curator at Contemporary Calgary. The series will feature monthly screenings that amplify voices from the Global South, deconstructing broader moving-image practices through an anti-colonial framework. In particular, this year's Perspective will focus on filmic works from the Caucasus, as well as Southwest Asia and North Africa, a region that continues to grapple with the enduring legacies of colonial violence.