www.bfi.org.uk/shakespeare #ShakespeareLives
The BFI Film Audience Network (FAN) is proud to announce BFI Presents: Shakespeare on Film: a spectacular UK-wide series of 300 special screenings and events celebrating the enormous impact the playwright’s life, work and legacy has had on cinema. The events will begin in April, coinciding with the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death on Saturday 23 April.
The project is led by Film Hub London working in partnership with the BFI and the UK’s eight other film Hubs. BFI Presents: Shakespeare on Film will see multiplexes, independent cinemas, film clubs, pop-ups and community venues the length and breadth of the UK enticing audiences with a broad range of must-see filmic interpretations of Shakespeare’s work and special events featuring leading cinematic lights.
From a Q&A with Kenneth Branagh beamed live to 70+ cinemas across the country from Belfast’s Queen’s Film Theatre, to spectacular screenings in castles, and silent films set to bold new scores from leading contemporary artists, BFI Presents: Shakespeare on Film promises a series of big screen revelations that will enthral and entertain everyone from dyed-in-the-wool bard aficionados to casual cinemagoers keen for a fresh new filmic experience. The programme will also contain a dedicated youth focus, including an ‘in conversation’ session with Kenneth Branagh and Adrian Wootton, Chief Executive of Film London and the British Film Commission, that will be filmed and used as an educational resource and BFI Presents: Shakespeare on Film elements incorporated as part of this year’s Into Film Festival in November.
Kenneth Branagh, director, actor and patron of Film London’s own Shakespeare on Screen initiative, said: “It’s a real privilege to be returning with Henry V – the first Shakespeare feature I directed, to the Queen’s Film Theatre in my home city, as part of this wonderful celebration of Shakespeare’s life, work and legacy on screen. The fact that Film London has organised the event to be beamed live to cinemas across the UK is particularly exciting.”
Adrian Wootton, Chief Executive of Film London and the British Film Commission, said: “Shakespeare might have been a man of the theatre but his work offers endless possibilities to film-makers. Somehow the power of his stories, characters, his all too human resonant and relevant themes of power, politics, family, romance, tragic conflict and joyous comedy, manages to transcend barriers of time and the English language such that specific cultural settings can be interpreted by filmmaking artists, in all different kinds of locations, contexts and languages. I am hugely grateful to the BFI and FAN for working in partnership with Film London to deliver this wealth of Shakespeare programming and activity around the whole of the UK.”
Ben Luxford, BFI Head of UK Audiences, said: “Shakespeare’s work is arguably at its most accessible through film, and the BFI Film Audience Network exists to make great cinema available to all – we’re pleased to support this range of fantastic events that promise to bring the very best cinematic interpretations of Shakespeare’s work to audiences right across the UK.”
Highlights from the BFI Presents: Shakespeare on Film programme:
BFI FAN spans the length and breadth of the UK and connects cinemas, film archives, education organisations, community groups and others, to bring a wide range of films to audiences and help build interest in British independent and specialised film. BFI FAN members have fully embraced BFI Presents: Shakespeare on Film, creating a spectacular programme that promises to bring the bard’s cinematic interpretations to UK audiences in bold, brave and exciting ways.
For more information about BFI Presents: Shakespeare on Film, visit www.bfi.org.uk/shakespeare
