Perspective Film Series:
The Witch (2015), dir. Robert Eggers
October 20
5:30 PM
Dome Theatre
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.
Sunday, October 20
Doors: 5:00 PM
Screening: 5:30 PM
FREE for members. Non-members: $10—your ticket to this screening includes admission to Contemporary Calgary. Our galleries are open from 12-5 PM for viewing prior to attending the program.
About the Curator:
Muriel N. Kahwagi ((she/her)) is a writer and curator, working primarily across publishing and programming. Her research is centered on the politics of collecting and archiving the performative; and the act of listening as a form of preservation in and of itself. In 2023, she was the TD Curatorial Fellow at Art Windsor-Essex, and a curator as part of Vtape’s Curatorial Incubator, v.19. She is currently the Assistant Curator at Contemporary Calgary, and a programmer at the Toronto Arab Film Festival.
