It was recently announced that Mubi is set to stream Elizabeth Sankey’s Witches worldwide next year on the streaming site. The film connects postpartum depression to the history of witches in Western society.
Stankey explained her process in making this film with The Hollywood Reporter, stating, “‘I started making Witches soon after being released from the psychiatric ward [for postpartum illness] as a way of trying to process what had happened to me…I researched the history of women in medicine and found they were once the main healers in their communities, but that ended with the 16th century witch trials…Their symptoms were the same as mine — depression, suicidal ideation, and the pressure to be a good mother. I realized how little has changed — women still struggle to ask for help because they’re ashamed, or don’t understand what they are feeling.”
Witches premiered at the Tribeca Festival in June.
Stankey is better known for her directorial debut Romantic Comedy starring Jessica Barden (The Lobster) and Charlie Shackleton (As Mine Exactly). Now, Stankey is back behind the camera for Witches, directing, writing, and editing the film alongside Manon Ardisson and Chiara Ventura producing.
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