The Brattle is excited to team-up with three noted authors to co-curate this series of magical movies: Peter Bebergal, Pam Grossman, and Janaka Stucky. Each will contribute their own introductions and illuminations for films during the series and we kick off the program with a panel featuring a conversation between the three on Friday, Jan 27. This series explores images of the occult in cinema – mostly dealing with the Western traditions of witchcraft and ritual magic – from 1950s (NIGHT OF THE DEMON, BELL BOOK & CANDLE) to today (THE WITCH, THE LOVE WITCH).

Kicking off the week, this night features a conversation between our three co-curators about depictions of the occult on screen along with an invocation from Janaka Stucky and a selection of short films. Followed by a screening of The Witch, and Lord of Illusions.

Peter Bebergal is the author of Season of the Witch: How the Occult Saved Rock and Roll and the forthcoming Strange Frequencies.

Pam Grossman is an independent curator, writer, and teacher of magical practice and history. She is the creator of Phantasmaphile.com and the author of the illuminated manifesto, What Is A Witch.

Janaka Stucky is an American poet, performer, and publisher. He is the founding editor of the independent publishing company Black Ocean and the author of the full-length poetry collection, The Truth Is We Are Perfect.