Häxan

Grave robbing, torture, possessed nuns, and a satanic Sabbath: Benjamin Christensen's legendary film uses a series of dramatic vignettes to explore the scientific hypothesis that the witches of the Middle Ages suffered the same hysteria as turn-of-the-century psychiatric patients. But the film itself is far from serious-- instead it's a witches' brew of the scary, gross, and darkly humorous.

1922-09-18 | sv

Omo Child: The River and the Bush

For many generations people in the Omo Valley (tribal southwest Ethiopia) believed some children are cursed and that these 'cursed' children bring disease, drought and death to the tribe. The curse is called 'mingi' and mingi children are killed. Lale Labuko, a young educated man from the Kara tribe was 15 years old when he saw a child in his village killed and also learned that he had 2 older sisters he never knew who had been killed. He decided one day he would stop this horrific practice. Filmed over a five year period we follow Lale's journey along with the people of his tribe as they attempt to change an ancient practice.

2015-02-25 | en

The Fairy Faith

Walker takes us on a personal journey into a world of myth and imagination that he learned from his grandmother. He travels from the Moors of Devon and the Highlands of Scotland to the brooding Celtic landscapes of Ireland and the intimate hills of Cape Breton, in his search of this potent “otherworld” of the imagination.

2000-02-10 | en

Who's Superstitious?

This short film examines the origins of several superstitions including crossing your fingers, knocking on wood, rabbit's feet, and breaking champagne bottles to christen ships, plus the role of superstitions in the Flying Dutchman tale.

1943-01-02 | en

Possessed by Djinn

Sparked by the true story of Aya, a four-year-old Jordanian girl killed by her father because he believed her to be possessed, filmmaker Dalia Al Kury launches a fascinating investigation into a controversial and little-known aspect of Islamic culture: belief in djinn. The djinn are believed to be supernatural creatures that occupy a parallel world to ours and their emergence is associated with sexuality, political unrest, poverty and mental illness. The taboo subject of demonic possession remains broadly unresolved in the hearts and minds of some Muslims due to its complex and uncomfortable nature. Using a subjective, “undercover” style, Al Kury journeys into the obscure world of exorcists and the possessed, confronting their traditions and rituals. It makes for a telling ghost story that bares the filmmaker’s and her society’s subconscious underbelly.

2015-04-28 | ar

L'attaccatura

1971-01-01 | it

Several Successful Situations; Simultaneous & Successive

I enjoy religion, I appreciate belief systems and how they offer structure to people's lives. I also appreciate how spirituality manifests itself in Asian cultures as this almost earthbound presence guiding people through every day life and when they need an extra bit of help they need only ask whichever deity holds dominion over their desire. Here is an experimental film I made with videos from my iPhone. Shot across Taiwan and South Korea. An experimental film I made with videos from my iPhone. Shot across Taiwan and Korea. My aim was to explore success in how it pertains to every day life, the satisfaction of small moments, spirituality, superstition, and daily rituals.

2024-09-09 | en

Vadātājs

'Vadātājs' is an ancient Latvian mythological creature that leads people to Nowhere. As Latvia has been declared the most superstitious country in the EU, it is important to understand – what do we believe in? Three young filmmakers – a director, cinematographer and sound girl – question if Latvia is a lost country and if a Vadātājs has achieved enormous power by leading Latvian society into confusion. A search for a contemporary Vadātājs*, and the understanding of the origins of confusion within people in the 21st century.

2013-11-16 | lv

Another Dimension

UFOs and spirits can be seen in Salme municipality on the island Saaremaa. There are viking skeletons and the Sõnajalg family wind turbines coming out of the depths of the earth and a helicopter flying to a village shop scares away cow herds. There are two realities here that do not fit together.

2012-01-10 | et

Groundhog Town

In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, Groundhog Day reigns supreme. 134 years strong, for a single morning in the dead of winter, visitors gather to witness Punxsutawney Phil’s vision for the future. But when a global pandemic forces the ceremony to go virtual, the town’s residents must confront a moment of collective uncertainty.

2023-01-27 | en

Black Cats and Broomsticks

Superstitions are examined in the context of mid-20th century America. Walking under ladders, spilt salt, stepping on cracks, haunted houses, voodoo dolls, and such are used to illustrate the widespread belief in the supernatural.

1955-10-14 | en

Black Cat, White Cat

Matko is a small time hustler, living by the Danube with his 17-year-old son Zare. After a failed business deal he owes money to the much more successful gangster Dadan. Dadan has a sister, Afrodita, that he desperately wants to see get married so they strike a deal: Zare is to marry her.

1998-06-01 | sr

Black Crown

A woman suffers from amnesia after killing her husband, who was just about to demand a divorce for having found her engaging in an affair with a lover, who is only interested in her to find where some precious jewels are hidden.

1951-05-23 | es

Murrain

When a mystery illness infects the pigs of a village farmer and a local boy is also taken ill, the villagers try to convince a veterinarian that it is caused by a curse from a woman they believe to be a witch.

1975-07-27 | en

Volver

Three generations of women survive the east wind, fire, insanity, superstition and even death by means of goodness, lies and boundless vitality.

2006-03-17 | es

Anna Goldin, the Last Witch

A native of Sennwald, Anna Göldi arrived in Glarus in 1765. For seventeen years, she worked as a maidservant for Johann Jakob Tschudi, a physician. Tschudi reported her for having put needles in the bread and milk of one of his daughters, apparently through supernatural means. Göldi at first escaped arrest, but the authorities of the Canton of Glarus advertised a reward for her capture in the Zürcher Zeitung on February 9, 1782. Göldi was arrested and under torture, admitted to entering in a pact with the Devil, who had appeared to her as a black dog. She withdrew her confession after the torture ended, but was sentenced on June 18, 1782 to execution by decapitation. The charges were officially of "poisoning" rather than witchcraft, even though the law at the time did not impose the death penalty for non-lethal poisoning.

1991-08-01 | de

The Serpent and the Rainbow

A Harvard anthropologist is sent to Haiti to retrieve a strange powder that is said to have the power to bring human beings back from the dead. In his quest to find the miracle drug, the cynical scientist enters the rarely seen netherworld of walking zombies, blood rites and ancient curses. Based on the true life experiences of Wade Davis and filmed on location in Haiti, it's a frightening excursion into black magic and the supernatural.

1988-02-05 | en

It Was Not Useless

Boris Buzančić plays an idealistic young doctor who is assigned a nearly deserted village. The backwards residents at first resent Buzančić's new-fangled methods. Gradually, he proves his worth and wins their confidence. The clincher comes when Buzančić rids the community of a despotic villain.

1957-02-02 | sh

I Walked with a Zombie

A nurse in the Caribbean turns to voodoo in hopes of curing her patient, a mindless woman whose husband she's fallen in love with.

1943-04-21 | en

Dracula Has Risen from the Grave

In the shadow of Castle Dracula, the Prince of Darkness is revived by blood trickling from the head-wound of an unconscious priest attempting exorcism. And once more fear and terror strikes Transylvania as the undead Prince of Darkness stalks the village of Keineneburg to ensnare victims and satisfy his evil thirst.

1968-11-07 | en