GRAND THEFT HAMLET opens in UK and Irish cinemas this 6 DECEMBER 2024.
Coming to big screens across the UK and Ireland, before an exclusive global SVOD release on MUBI, the global distributor, streaming service and production company, in early 2025, Grand Theft Hamlet will also have a special preview screening and filmmaker Q&A at BFI IMAX this Wednesday 4 December.
This much-anticipated feature documentary debut, written and directed by Pinny Grylls (Winner, BFI & Chanel Luminous Gala Filmmaker Award 2024) and Sam Crane, tells the story of two out of work actors attempting the impossible task of mounting a full production of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet inside the ultra violent world of Grand Theft Auto, shot entirely in game.
Following its World Premiere at SXSW 2024 (Winner, Documentary Feature Jury Award), Grand Theft Hamlet has seen a successful international festival run, including Official Selection screenings at Hot Docs 2024, CPH:DOX 2024, Visions du Reel 2024, Melbourne International Film Festival 2024, Korea’s DMZ Docs 2024, where it won the Frontier Competition and at Spain’s Sitges Film Festival (Winner, Sitges Best Documentary Film), Vancouver International Film Festival (Winner, Spectrum Audience Award) and Hamptons International Film Festival, where it has played in Competition. The film is nominated for four British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs), including Best Feature Documentary.
Synopsis:
| January 2021. The UK is in its 3rd lockdown and all entertainment venues remain closed. For theatre actors Sam Crane and Mark Oosterveen, the future looks bleak. As the pandemic drags on, Mark -single and childless- is increasingly socially isolated, while Sam panics about how he is going to support his young family. They spend their days in the online digital world of Grand Theft Auto and when they stumble across a theatre, they suddenly have an idea to stage a full production of Hamlet within the game. Sam’s wife, documentary filmmaker Pinny, steps into the game too as an avatar filmmaker to record their journey. This film charts their ridiculous, hilarious and moving adventure as they battle violent griefers and discover surprising truths about life, friendship and the enduring power of Shakespeare. |
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