The secret world of modern witches will be revealed in “Coven”.
Directed by Rama Rau, ET Canada has an exclusive first look at the documentary which follows three millennial witches as they explore what it means to be a witch in the modern world. They “set out to discover if the rituals, lore, and sacred places of their ancestors can help them channel their gifts, confront their obstacles, and claim their power.”
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Ayo Leilani, a.k.a. Witch Prophet, is a Toronto singer who was raised in East Africa by devoutly Christian parents and began to explore the occult as a teen. She was accused of being an Obeah woman (a Caribbean sorceress), but their fear led her to a Jamaican guru who counseled her on her abilities and then disappeared.
Haunted by dreams in which she’s a 19th Century Russian author and mystic, the film follows her journey to New Orleans for advice from Queen Erzulie, founder of a Black Witches movement.
Laura Hokstad, a “solitary witch” in Toronto, seeks both the “coven” experience and an exploration of her heritage. As she travels to Scotland, she discovers that witchcraft runs in her family, with two of her ancestors being accused of witchcraft (one of them in notorious Salem, Mass.).
The final member of the “Coven” is Andra Maria Zlatescu, who left Romania as a child with her parents, travels to the outskirts of Bucharest to meet with Mihaela Minca, reputedly Eastern Europe’s most powerful witch, and her witch-clan family. There she is taken to a reputedly magical forest to commune with spirits and reconnect with the forces that empower her.
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“Making this film has been a wild and completely unexpected journey that took me and the crew to far-flung lands, where Dracula had roamed, or where Druids may have worshipped at Stonehenge or to Salem, where witches were hunted ruthlessly,” said the Director. “Witch hunts have always been about men’s fear of women. Making this film is a necessary act, so women can take back their power and re-tell their stories with magic, language and memory.”
The film will be part of the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and includes other films like “Cynara”, “Echo of Everything”, and “Unsyncable” among others.
The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival will take place from Apr. 27 – May 7.
