''Coven'' ( eu, Akelarre) is a 2020

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Pablo Agüero Pablo Agüero (born 13 May 1977 in Mendoza, Argentina) is an Argentine-French filmmaker. Raised in the Argentinean Patagonia, Pablo Agüero obtained international recognition with "Primera Nieve", winner of the Grand Jury Prize in the Official Com ...

, starring

Amaia Aberasturi Amaia Aberasturi Franco (born 28 April 1997) is a Spanish actress from the Basque Country, best known for her roles in 2020 drama film '' Coven'' and television series '' 45 rpm''. Early life and education Born in Gautegiz Arteaga, Basque ...

and

Alex Brendemühl Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple pe ...

. It won five

Goya Awards The Goya Awards ( es, Premios Goya) are Spain's main national annual film awards, commonly referred to as the Academy Awards of Spain. The awards were established in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sc ...

from a total of nine nominations at the 35th Goya Awards. At the

8th Feroz Awards The 8th ceremony of the Feroz Awards was held at the Teatro Coliseum in Madrid, on 2 March 2021. The ceremony was hosted by Pilar Castro. Originally scheduled to take place on 8 February 2021 at the Teatro Ciudad de Alcobendas in Alcobendas, the ...

, the film was nominated in six categories. The film was produced by Sorgin Films, Lamia Producciones Audiovisuales, Kowalski Films, Gariza Produkzioak, Tita Productions, La Fidèle Productions, Tita B. Productions and Campocine.

Plot

In 1609 in the Basque Country a group of five teenagers are captured and arrested as main suspects of witchcraft, as they celebrated a party in the woods. Judge Rostegui, given the task of purifying the region by the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

, arrests the girls and accuses them of witchcraft. He decides to do whatever it takes to make them confess, and tell him what they know about the '' akelarre'', a ceremony with magical connotations, during which the Devil is said to initiate his servants and mate with them. Even though they deny it, and there is no evidence against them, they are arrested and tortured in order to force them to sign a written confession. After another of their friends is arrested, one of the girls, Ana, confesses to be a witch, claiming she cast a spell on the rest of her sisters and friends. Ana's plan is to gain enough time for the girls to organise an escape when the men of the village return from their fishing. As a result she spends a whole day confessing a detailed sabbath festivity - in reality a twisted version of the party she and the girls held before their arrest. Judge Rostegui postpones the girls' execution when Ana says she can only use her magic in every full moon night as she feels Lucifer's calling. Her portrayal convinces Rostegui who offers to deliver every item for the sabbath which causes some of his men to distrust him. One of his allies warns him that after the full moon, the village men will return and the girls will be set free. Rostegui rushes the girls' execution and takes them to the woods for the ceremony with all of Ana's specifications. Understanding their situation, Ana leads her friends in a dance demonstration as they play along as witches and sing in the Basque language. Rostegui is entranced, but all of his men, along with village's priest are frightened of the "sabbath". Ana and the rest of the girls flee as Rostegui and his men have an argument; a chase through the woods ensues until the girls are cornered at a cliff. As they join hands, one of the village women elders sings in Basque about the tide brought by the full moon which motivates the girls to jump off from the cliff to Rostegui and his men's surprise.

Cast

as Ana *

as Rostegui * Daniel Fanego as Consejero * Garazi Urkola as Katalin * Yune Nogueiras as María

Reception

''Coven'' received generally positive reviews from film critics. It holds approval rating on review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on reviews, with an average rating of .

Awards

References

External links

* * {{rottentomatoes, coven_of_sisters 2020 films 2020 drama films Basque-language films 2020s Spanish-language films 2020s historical drama films Argentine historical drama films French historical drama films Spanish historical drama films Films directed by Pablo Agüero Films produced by Fred Prémel Films produced by Iker Ganuza Films produced by Koldo Zuazua Films with screenplays by Pablo Agüero Films with screenplays by Katell Guillou Films set in the 1600s Kowalski Films films 2020s Spanish films 2020s French films 2020s Argentine films