Canadian filmmaker Rama Rau’s latest documentary, Coven, looks at a trio of women continuing their ongoing exploration and education of witchcraft and Wicca, in the hopes of not only answering their own personal questions about the world around them, but to also reclaim their practices and beliefs as positive things, and not something to be feared.
Laura is a solitary witch looking to learn from others and hopefully connect to a larger community. Andrea is at a crossroads in her practice and is looking to examine her ancestral roots. Musician Witch Prophet has used her beliefs and teachings to become creatively fulfilled via an examination of her past lives, but her journey seems to just be getting started, as she’s eager to take in as much as she can.
Rau knows that it’s not her job as a filmmaker to make the audience believe, but to present the subjects of Coven as seekers just like the rest of us. They are trying to find their place in the world while making connections to things that feel real. Coven is less about the nuts and bolts detail of witchcraft and Wicca and more about a larger picture of individual agency and larger communities built on ancestral truths. These truths are then connected back to issues like queerness, artistic freedom, superstition, and the bucking of patriarchal norms.
All three of Rau’s subjects are wonderful guides through these spaces some might find foreign, and their journeys take Coven to some visually stunning and culturally rich places, like Scotland and a Black Witch University in New Orleans. They’re a joy to follow, and Rau’s primer lets them simply be in the moment, making for a rather magical journey.
Friday, April 28, 2023 – 8:45 pm – TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
Friday, May 5, 2023 – 6:00 pm – TIFF Bell Lightbox 2
Coven will be available to stream online across Canada via Hot Docs from May 5th to 9th.
Ticket holders can have their tarot cards read by two of the film’s subjects prior to both screenings.
The screening on Friday, May 5 will be followed by a musical performance from Witch Prophet.
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