Coven (2020)

October 2, 2020 (AR) • Drama, History • 92m

Overview

French Basque Country, year 1609. The men of a small fishing village have gone to sea. Judge Rostegui, who has been charged by the king with ridding the country of the devil's wiles, arrests Ana and her friends and accuses them of witchcraft.

Director

Pablo Agüero

Writers

Katell Guillou, Pablo Agüero

Top Billed

Àlex Brendemühl

Keywords

inquisition female friendship religious fundamentalism witchcraft coven (akelarre) witch hunt small village 17th century french basque country

Where to watch

Free / Included

Netflix

Netflix Standard with Ads

Top Billed Cast

Àlex Brendemühl

Rostegui

Amaia Aberasturi

Ana

Daniel Fanego

Salazar

Garazi Urkola

Katalin

Yune Nogueiras

María

Jone Laspiur

Maider

Irati Sáez de Urabain

Olaia

Lorea Ibarra

Oneka

Asier Oruesagasti

Father Cristóbal

Elena Uriz

Mrs. Lara

Jeanne Insausti

Grandmother

Daniel Chamorro

Surgeon

Iñigo de la Iglesia

Sergeant

Ulises Di Roma

Guard

Amalia Robin

Mrs. Lara's Handmaid #1

Amaia Azkue

Mrs. Lara's Handmaid #2

Teresa Achalandabaso

Etcheverry

Cristina Yélamos

Izaro

Kiko Rossi

Young Man

Crew

Paula Troia

Foley Artist

Álex Abajo

Gaffer

Silvina Guglielmotti

First Assistant Director

Myriam Pérez

Choreographer

Julián Sánchez Moreno

Boom Operator

Damián Benetucci

Color Grading

Nathalie Camidebach

Casting

Eduardo Moratilla

Stunt Coordinator

Demetrio Elorz

Assistant Editor

Guadalupe Balaguer Trelles

Production Director

Mariano García Marty

Special Effects Supervisor

Begoña Muñoz Corcuera

Production Manager

Ane Arteaga

Property Master

Ana Rubio

Digital Effects Supervisor

César Solar

Stunt Coordinator

Karlos Argiñano

Camera Operator

Óscar Marcos Bello

First Assistant Director

Gorka Cornejo

Script Supervisor

Moïra Chapdelaine-Vautier

Post Production Coordinator

Iker Ibarlucea

Key Grip

Jon Serrano Serván

Special Effects Supervisor

Ana Rubio

Visual Effects Supervisor

Jean Collot

Boom Operator

Leandro de Loredo

Sound Director

David Herranz

Still Photographer

David Sevilla

Steadicam Operator

Lierni Izagirre

Set Decoration

David Sevilla

Camera Operator

Peio Villalba

Construction Manager

José E. Caldararo

Foley Artist

Pablo Agüero

Director

Teresa Font

Editor

Maite Arroitajauregi

Original Music Composer

Aránzazu Calleja

Original Music Composer

Javier Agirre Erauso

Director of Photography

Sara Mazkiarán

Assistant Director

Mikel Serrano

Production Design

Fred Prémiel

Producer

Iker Ganuza

Executive Producer

Katell Guillou

Screenplay

Pablo Agüero

Screenplay

Beata Wójtowicz

Makeup Designer

Nicolás Avruj

Co-Producer

Jokin Etchevarria

Co-Producer

Diego Lerman

Co-Producer

Garazi Elorza

Co-Producer

Josefina Rodríguez

Sound Editor

Koldo Zuazua

Producer

Iker Ganuza

Producer

Urko Garai

Sound

Koldo Zuazua

Executive Producer

Nerea Torrijos

Costume Designer

Ricardo Molina

Hair Designer

Anne Agüero

Associate Producer

Flor González

Casting

Frédéric Hamelin

Sound Editor

Nicolas de la Mothe

Associate Producer

Sonia Buchman

Associate Producer

Txabe Atxa

Casting

Moïra Chappedelaine-Vautier

Post Production Coordinator

Jokin Etcheverria

Producer

Reviews

CinemaSerf

⭐ 7/10

September 27, 2026

At the height of the Spanish Inquisition, "Rostegui" (Alex Brendemühl) has been charged by the King with rooting out the witchery that allegedly prevails amidst his 17th century Basque country. Allied with his notary (Daniel Fanego), a zealous young priest (Asier Oruesagasti) and a few soldiers his job is to specifically apprehend young women who may be privy to the secret rites that can conjure Satan from the depths to corrupt their bodies and their souls. His latest suspects are a group of nubile teenagers whom he is perfectly happy to have tortured until they either confess or are proved to be evil by rather probing and brutal bodily investigations. "Ana" (Amaia Aberasturi) might have read the tales of "Shéhérezade" though, as she convinces the others that their only hope of survival is to string out this process long enough for their fathers - fishing at sea - to return and rescue them. She's lucky in that her captor is captivated by her, and she knows how to capitalise on that but the longer their stalling goes on the more suspicious he becomes that not only are they really witches - as they have now acknowledged out of desperation, but they are preparing for their Sabbath dance so as to either escape or perhaps even entrap him in their sinister ritual. If you ever saw Vincent Price's "Witchfinder General" from 1968, then you may already appreciate that many of the techniques used to separate guilt and innocence in these cases resulted in death - either by being proven a witch or dying in the process of proving that you weren't. Well there is plenty of that here, too, as the torturers exact a maximum of suffering from these girls thereby ensuring that they'd probably confess to being penguins if he'd asked. The production is largely set amidst flame-lit darkness and the sexually-charged history shines a potently evocative light on the superstitions of the time and on the church's hypocritical domination of politics based on fear, ignorance and violence against an uneducated populus - and that could include those conducting the inquisition - all too eager to conform to the supposed wishes of Jesus Christ and/or his father. Aberasturi delivers suggestively as she combines a survival insect with the role of manipulatrix-cum-tempress and by the denouement I wasn't entirely sure if perhaps "Padre Cristóbal" might not have been right all along... All of that said, though, I found the actual story a little too undercooked as were the characterisations and it does rely a little more on the imagery - which can be a quite repetitive - rather than immerse us more in the terror of this state-sponsored culling of it's own people. Still, it's provocative and well worth ninety minutes.

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Coven (2020)

Katell Guillou, Pablo Agüero

Where to watch

Top Billed Cast

Crew

Reviews

CinemaSerf

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