Witches, the sophomore feature from English filmmaker Elizabeth Sankey, poses an interesting hypothesis concerning the link between the English witch trials and maternal mental health. Sankey illustrates this correlation by utilizing filmic portrayals of sorceresses (from Häxan to The Craft) and “psychotic women” (from Rosemary’s Baby to Unsane), their historical accuracy and cultural relevance buttressed by insight from doctors, historians and those who’ve been diagnosed with postpartum mental illnesses.
Sankey is perfectly poised to tackle the topic given that she spent several months in a mother and baby psychiatric unit after experiencing severe postpartum anxiety and depression that made her a threat to her and her son’s safety. During her recovery, she reflected on how society has historically maligned women who don’t conform to perfect ideals of femininity and motherhood—oft-cast as “witches”—and why the weight of this apparent failure has shaped resulting stigmas around women’s psychiatric treatment.
When Vision Became a Necessity
I spoke with Sankey via Zoom ahead of her film’s Tribeca Festival premiere. Below, the filmmaker discusses her lifelong affinity for witches, culling clips from over 250 films and working with her husband, Jeremy Warmsley, on the original score. Witches will release via MUBI, which also produced it, in 2025.
I had been in the psychiatric ward with my baby for eight weeks, and I got out in October or November. I had only been out for about a month, and I thought, ‘I’ve got to make something about this,’ just as a way of processing what had happened. I was going to do an essay film, which is what I did with my first film, Romantic Comedy. I’ve always wanted to do something about witches. I felt a lot of affinity with witches during my illness and afterwards because I was really struggling to make peace with the thoughts that I had and the person that I’d been.
Expressing Mental Turmoil Through Horror Films
The horror film aspect started because Sankey wanted to have a boundary on what she could use in terms of film clips. Then, through research, she realized there was a strong connection between witches, maternal mental health, and women’s mental health in general. I was trying to illustrate what it was like to lose my mind. When it was happening, it did feel very cinematic. The only references I had [for that experience] were horror films, and it felt like reality had just sort of broken apart.
Selecting Film Clips
A key part of Sankey’s process involved selecting scenes that resonated strongly with her experiences. She said, I guess the process was similar [to Romantic Comedy], but what I was looking for was very different… With Romantic Comedy, I was looking for romantic comedies throughout the ages… With this, I was looking at films that depicted an aspect of mental illness for women in general.
The Draw Between History and Modern Depictions
Sankey began feeling that historical depictions of witches resonated with her own story amidst mental health struggles: I felt very much like there were two versions of me—a good version and a bad version… Then I started reading the testimonies of women who had been on trial. These women are talking, and you know exactly what they’re talking about. You felt the same thing.
A Symbiotic Creative Partnership
Regarding collaboration with her husband Jeremy Warmsley on the film’s score: Jeremy can play every single instrument… He actually also co-produced the film… We were able to have a really good dialogue about it. I was like ‘You have to read loads of stuff about witches,’ witchcraft culture,’ and he did… We knew that the female voice would be a really important theme.
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