Director Rama Rau’s Coven examines the modern-day feminist significance of witchcraft by criss-crossing the globe with a trio of young witches as they explore the history of Wiccan practices. We posed our Qs à la mode to Rama, and here’s what she shared!
If I had to describe my film using only three adjectives, they would be: Feminist. Magical. Intriguing.
I decided to make this film because: I wanted to show how strong women were treated, through history and to de-stigmatize the word “witch.”
The thing that surprised me most about my film’s subject/topic was: How relevant it really is — I’ve had so many young women come to me and say they are witches. I had no idea it is so widespread.
My favorite moment/scene/sequence in my film is: The Stonehenge scene — Laura walks through the ancient pagan site. It’s a beautiful scene and most magical for me and, hopefully, for audiences.
The most challenging part of making my film was: Finding the right characters and following their journeys to find commonalities between their stories.
My most invaluable piece of doc-making gear was/is: My warm jacket and running shoes. We filmed in some very cold and muddy fields in Scotland!
One piece of documentary-filmmaking advice I’d like to share with aspiring documentarians is: Dream up the story you want to tell and do not stop until you find a way to say it authentically.
