They Called Her a Motherwitch. This Film Is Making the World Listen.
Gothic horror. Cypriot folklore. This podcast episode is going to change the way you view both. (Prepared by Jadyn L.)
There are so many films that sneak up on you, you think you’re sitting down to watch something that’s safely contained in a genre that you’re familiar with, but then a few hours later, you’re still thinking about it. Unsettled in the best way possible, craving to know more.
(all artwork by katie seamonds)
Motherwitch is that kind of film, and Katie got the opportunity to start the conversation on it that you didn’t know you needed. In this episode of She’s All Over the Place, she discusses the text with the extraordinary Emmy-winning director Minos Papas, offering listeners an in-depth look at the creative process and the film’s ideas.
The stunning new gothic horror film had sold-out screenings at the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2026 and was also selected for the prestigious Frontieres Platform at Cannes. (Fantasia Film Festival & Marché du Film Announce the 2026 Selection for the Frontières Platform in Cannes, 2026) You know, the market known for elevating the most exciting green films and talents on the international circuit? This isn’t a small film; this is an experience that you can’t get by simply reading.
Set in Cyprus in 1882, Motherwitch follows Eleni, a painter who reaches inside the shadows to resurrect her lost children, only to summon the ancient Kalikantzari of Cypriot lore, unleashing a curse she must now face alone. You’d think this is a story about a mother overcoming personal tragedy while being shunned by her village, but beneath the surface, it’s far more complex. A film set at the moment of cultural upheaval under British colonial rule, where grief, faith, art, and power collide in ways that seem both historical and urgently human.
Many who caught this film at Rotterdam couldn’t help but make the same comparison; many described it as feeling like a dark fairytale rooted deeply in local myth and history. (Rebecca, 2026) This film blended folklore, childhood, and brutality in a way that feels both intimate and universal. Visually, the film is magnificently stunning. Cyprus appears as a green, mountainous, and mystical island, with cinematography that reintroduces it as a cinema landscape entirely its own.
Not to mention, the film’s emotional core is incredibly telling. A spiritual bond between Eleni and an artistically gifted boy, Michalakis, whose talents have been suppressed by a scornful father. These are a pair of souls who become each other’s salvation from their sorrows. This is exactly the kind of story that our current era lacks, and Minos tackles it with grace.
Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to feel as much as I did when watching and listening myself. There’s something about stories that wrestle with grief and motherhood and the desperate, irrational things we do when we’ve lost what we love most. They don’t allow you to stay at a comfortable distance. They’re vulnerable; they make you think about the situation from different lenses. Eleni’s story isn’t neat, it isn’t tidy, and it isn’t contained. It’s real, it’s raw, and it resonates when you don’t expect it to. It’s not a clean solution, and it doesn’t resolve quickly, but that’s what makes a story human.
Katie brings that same energy to this conversation, the kind of host that isn’t interested in surface-level takes that everyone else tends to ask. She’s the type of person who asks the questions that actually matter, the ones that you’re thinking of that many are too afraid to ask. In this episode, these inquiries unlock something that’s absolutely worth hearing.
There’s a moment in the discussion that I’m going to let you find yourself, where the conversation shifts from talking about the film to talking about something much bigger. It’s about what art does when words can’t reach, and how the act of creating or feeling something deeply can open us up—as if we ourselves become a portal for emotion, not just a wall it hits and stops. It’s about what it actually means to be haunted by something or someone you love
You can read every review out there, look up the festival, and see the critical praise it rightfully deserves. But the conversation in this episode is going to give you something they all can’t: the living, breathing why behind a film like this, why it was made, why it matters, and why it’s already traveling the world and breaking boundaries, finding audiences who feel validated by it.
Don’t just take my word for it. Go take a listen and clear up some space afterward, because this is the kind of film that sits with you.
Watch here on YouTube; it’s also available on your favorite platform: find it now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music.
https://www.chonacas.com/podcast/
References
(April 6, 2026). Fantasia Film Festival & Marché du Film Announce the 2026 Selection for the Frontières Platform in Cannes. Marché du Film. https://www.marchedufilm.com/news/fantasia-film-festival-marche-du-film-announce-the-2026-selection-for-the-frontieres-platform-in-cannes/
Rebecca. (2026). Review: Motherwitch. FilmCarnage.com. https://filmcarnage.com/2026/02/23/review-motherwitch/
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