Gossip // Film Screening, Q & A and Music

Come and experience a new short films set during the Witch Trails.

Synopsis: East Anglia, 1584. When a young woman goes into labour a group of women, led by the local midwife, guide her through the trials of labour. But as they celebrate the safe arrival of new life, a greater danger arrives at the door.

Gossip tells the untold story of witches as they really were - midwives, healers, women with knowledge and power.

Gossip was made alongside the local community, counting both Essex locals and real NHS midwives among the cast and crew.

“With Gossip I wanted to tell a story of solidarity and draw a line between the witch trials and the ongoing struggle for reproductive justice and control over our bodies. Naming the film Gossip, a word that changed from meaning friendship to one of denigration and ridicule, highlights the psychological attack as well as the direct violence. The gossip we formed of both professional actors and midwives became not only the heart of the film you see but the entire filmmaking process.”

Hannah Renton, Director & Co-Writer

Host or Publisher East Anglian Folklore Centre