This film is currently unavailable

Witchcraft
Witchcraft comes under scrutiny - is it just nudism in another guise?
Director: Geoffrey Hughes
Overview
Investigative journalist and charismatic Soho bon vivant Dan Farson presents this polite yet probing, nuanced TV doc about witchcraft, what it really is and how it's practiced in 1950s Britain. Guests include stern anthropologist Margaret Murray and practicing witch Gerald Gardner, who, looking resplendent with stiff white hair and beard, chuckles and keep his cool in the line of fire.
Gerald Gardner wrote his book Witchcraft Today in 1954, three years after the repeal of the Witchcraft Act. It was written as if he was a disinterested ethnographer, but he later revealed he had been inducted into a long-standing coven in the New Forest. His description of ritual set the tone for witchcraft thereafter and he's considered by many to be the creator of the Wiccan religion, as witchcraft is also known. Farson, for his part, remembered that he'd been out drinking and got into a fight the night before these interviews were shot. The resulting black eye meant his question and reaction shots had to be filmed at a later date.
Related

The Seventh Day The Seventh Day
1957 14 mins Silent Director: Geoffrey Hughes
Man about town Daniel Farson grills the Lord's Day Observance Society on their beliefs about appropriate Sunday activities.

Other Worlds Are Watching Us Other Worlds Are Watching Us
1957 14 mins Director: Geoffrey Hughes
Do you believe in flying saucers? Intrepid investigator Dan Farson weighs up the evidence in this fascinating TV film.

Soho Striptease Clubs Soho Striptease Clubs
1958 7 mins Silent Director: John Rhodes
Intrepid investigative journalist Daniel Farson ventures deep into the heart of Soho to explore the hidden world of afternoon Striptease Clubs.

The Seventh Day The Seventh Day
1957 14 mins Silent Director: Geoffrey Hughes
Man about town Daniel Farson grills the Lord's Day Observance Society on their beliefs about appropriate Sunday activities.

Other Worlds Are Watching Us Other Worlds Are Watching Us
1957 14 mins Director: Geoffrey Hughes
Do you believe in flying saucers? Intrepid investigator Dan Farson weighs up the evidence in this fascinating TV film.

Words of War Words of War
Drama 2025 117 mins Director: James Strong
Maxine Peake leads an excellent cast in this true story of journalist Anna Politkovskaya’s fight to expose corruption and abuse in Putin’s Russia.

The Return The Return
Drama 2024 116 mins Director: Uberto Pasolini
Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche are superb in this moody and poignant adaptation of the final sections of Homer's Odyssey.

E.1027 - Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea E.1027 - Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea
Drama-documentary 2024 90 mins Director: Beatrice Minger
A love triangle of jealousy in the Parisian art scene of the 1930s is brought to life in a stylish docufiction about the iconic artist and architect.

Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
Drama 2019 109 mins Director: Pawo Choyning Dorji
A city-loving teacher struggling for inspiration travels to the most remote school in the world in this quietly majestic Academy Award-nominated drama.

Parthenope Parthenope
Drama 2024 136 mins Director: Paolo Sorrentino
An alluring young woman seeks a deeper sense of purpose after a tragedy, in Paolo Sorrentino’s deeply romantic epic.

One to One: John & Yoko One to One: John & Yoko
Documentary 2024 101 mins Director: Kevin Macdonald
Kevin Macdonald’s essential record of the former Beatle’s final full-length performance is a fascinating portrait of two artists in a state of flux.