By Ogova Ondego
Published July 21, 2023
Heir of the Witch, a feature film inspired by powers of darkness, shall be streamed worldwide on August 4, 2023.
“Heir of the Witch is a story that was drawn from my personal fears, anxieties and individual experiences,” says Victoria Bell, the USA-based writer, director and main character. “The story of Heir of the Witch was birthed from my own childhood happenings. My grandmother on my paternal side, was a formidable witch. I was told she sold her soul to the devil and couldn’t die until the spirit of the darkness released her ghost only after she passed the ‘gift’ to someone else. Until this day, we do not know who she passed this ‘gift’ on to as we no longer associate with that side of the family for fear of condemnation.”
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In an attempt to get rid of the shame associated with being a descendant of a witch, Bell says she started “to write: write what I know, write what I fear, write from where it hurts. Something cathartic happened through the process of producing this film. By speaking out about my fear and shame, I have conquered that within myself and have put the
past behind me.”
But the film would have been a drab documentary had it just documented Bell’s experiences of shame.
“Although I was inspired by true events through my family’s affairs, I took the script to a creative place, bringing in other elements of Gothic Horror, Romance and a little twist to give impact to cinematic experience,” she says of the story that revolves around Anna, an heir of a witch, who
does not want to carry on the family legacy (curse).”
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Heir of the Witch, therefore, revolves around an underprivileged seamstress who, haunted by her past in eastern Europe, escapes to North America and seeks love and acceptance in high society but her grandmother’s spirit lurks, constantly tormenting Anna in her solitude, provoking her to use the powers she was cursed with in her youth and to fulfill her dark destiny. Anna refuses to follow that path.With grave consequences.
By sewing a dress for the beautiful and rich Chloe Hunt and becoming her domestic servant, Anna is lured into her world in which she finds herself in a steamy affair with Nicholas Hunt, Chloe Hunt’s husband, who makes her pregnant.
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Anna’s reality is shadowed by the Witch as her intent was for Anna to have a child to pass on the curse. In Anna’s awakening, she realizes that she’s now a witch and in order to stop the curse she has to do something on the premise “The curse stops with me.”
The production team of Heir of the Witch is formed of 80% women from all walks of life as Bell, the co-founder and creative arm of Pasha Entertainment, says she is determined to encourage women to step up in front (or behind) the camera to express and tell their own stories.
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