The Cinema Coven: Witches, Witchcraft and Women's Filmmaking

by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

Witches and witchcraft are potent metaphors for feminine power, with a history that predates the advent of cinema. The figure of the witch represents a particularly fraught, contested kind of gendered power, and has long inspired filmmakers to explore themes of race, class, trauma, motherhood, grief, and identity.

This book examines the relationship between women, witchcraft, and filmmaking, exploring types of storytelling and the central themes in these movies. Such films span the globe and have starred prominent figures like Madonna, Bette Midler, Bjork, and Nicole Kidman, as well as lesser-known women behind the scenes. Some of these filmmakers have premiered their works at major film festivals, while others have produced content for television and video releases. While notable in their diversity, these movies share one crucial they were all created by women in an industry broadly dominated by men.

302 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 7, 2024

About the author

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas is a film critic, research academic and the author of seven books on cult, horror, and exploitation cinema with an emphasis on gender politics. She has recently co-edited the book ReFocus: The Films of Elaine May for Edinburgh University Press, and her forthcoming book 1000 Women in Horror has been optioned for a documentary series. Alexandra is also a programming consultant for Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, the largest genre film festival in the United States.

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a genuinely amazing read! If you're anything like me and always looking for that elusive pop culture analysis book that doesn't just skim the surface then this is the book for you.

It's a thorough analysis of both the movie industry, the cultural significance of witches and witchcraft as depicted in film and story, and the women behind many of these stories as viewed through a feminist lens of analysis. I've noticed that when it comes to reviewing informative books the better the book the less I feel I can add through my review, and for this one I truly don't think anything I can say would convey the point better than simply saying if you find the concept even slightly intriguing give this one a read!