Witches
British filmmaker and musician Elizabeth Sankey (Romantic Comedy, 2019) returns with a deeply personal essay on postpartum mental health, told in part through popular culture. By casting a light on the portrayal of witches in Western society and culture, she raises fundamental questions on the unreasonable expectations that society places on women, the punishment that expects the ones who don’t comply with these inherited archetypes, and their potentially grave consequences on female psychology.
Footage spanning most of film history - from The Wizard of Oz to Girl, Interrupted and Rosemary’s Baby - help make the point that our shared cultural representation of witches says a lot about how we view women, motherhood, and the dirty stain that mental suffering is, preventing women from receiving proper help.
Sankey offers her own personal experiences alongside interviews with academics and other women who also went through postpartum terror. Their openness and vulnerability is exceptional and effectively takes the viewer as close as possible to being able to say “I know how you’re feeling.” Gratitude for such enlightening honesty is in order.
Illuminate is supported by the HSE