Witches in Exile

In contemporary Ghana and five other African nations, the old polytheistic beliefs in gods and witches coexist right alongside Islam and Christianity; in fact, in small villages if someone dies or falls ill, you can blame the misfortune on any woman you don't like—woman being the key word, as no man is ever to blame. The culprit can be one of your husband's other wives or she can be your mother-in-law, but most likely she will be post-menopausal, past her childbearing years, and therefore considered expendable. Allison Berg's harrowing documentary takes a look at four older women living in the Kukuo witches' camp, a village in Northern Ghana where accused women are sent to be examined by a “traditional priest”: after a chicken is sacrificed and a woman takes a “curative” drink, she can live there safe from persecution, but still in exile from her home. The filmmaker visits some of the women's male relatives to inquire why they didn't stand up against the bogus accusations, and interviews a number of Ghanese officials who are certainly aware of the problem but unsure about how to fix it. For many women in the U.S., being 70 means you can wear a red hat and purple dress whenever you'd like; in villages in Ghana, it can mean walking all day to a river and back carrying water in a vessel on your head and never seeing your children or grandchildren again. Winner of the Special Jury Selection Award at Austin's South by Southwest film festival, this is highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: C, P. (R. Reagan)