As the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT) reveals the talented winners of its annual Shakespeare Shorts Film Competition, from Monday 5 August, visitors are invited to discover the wealth of international talent at a special exhibition at Shakespeare’s New Place this summer.
Delivered by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT), with the support of its Patrons, Kenneth Branagh and Lolita Chakrabarti, Shakespeare Shorts is an annual short film competition. Celebrating the continued impact of William Shakespeare’s work and championing cinematic talents worldwide.
Inspired by the SBT’s new multi-year theme, The Women Who Made Shakespeare, the judges were especially interested in seeing entries from women and female-identifying people, of all ages and abilities, across the world.
‘’We are delighted to reveal the talented winners of our competition, and for the first time display their videos at Shakespeare’s New Place.
‘’Since 2013, Shakespeare Shorts has been recognising and supporting creative cinematic talent globally. This year, we were blown away by all the entries and to see how they each responded to the Women Who Made Shakespeare. Congratulations to not only the finalists, but to every single filmmaker who entered the competition.’’
Commented Jennifer Shufflebotham, Audience Engagement Manager at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, and organiser of the worldwide competition.
Judges Choice – the Winning Entries
This year, the competition attracted 76 entries from over 26 countries, including Spain, Japan and the United States.
The winners were selected by a distinguished panel of judges, including Mina Wood, a development producer from Maya Vision International; Sheila Marshall, a producer, director, and writer; and Aleksandar Nikolic, a filmmaker and editor. Chairing the esteemed panel was Rebecca Dobbs, a Trustee of the SBT and a producer-director who has made many films about the life and works of William Shakespeare over the last 20 years.
Following a rigorous judging process, the winner for the ‘’Best film inspired by the theme ‘The Women Who Made Shakespeare’’ was ‘’Two Emilia's Podcast’’, directed by Charlie Mitchell from the United States.
The ‘’Best Shakespeare Shorter Shorts’’ went to ‘’WDMC’’, created by Anthony Cally from United States, whilst the ‘’Best Shakespeare- themed animation’’ was awarded to ‘’Cannot sleep!’’, directed by Yingjie Zhou from Japan.
The competition also celebrated young filmmakers with the ‘’Best Shakespeare film or animation by a young filmmaker (aged 7-11)’’ awarded to ‘’Elizabethan Theatre’’, created by Chrysoula Nikolopoulou and pupils from Greece and the ‘’Best Shakespeare film or animation by a young filmmaker (aged 12-17)’’ given to ‘’Macbeth - Act 3 Scene 3’’ directed by Bodhi Gilroy from the United States.
The Patron’s Choice Awards
This year a new Patron’s Choice awards were introduced, recognising and celebrating the artistic endeavours of the filmmakers.
Acclaimed actor and filmmaker Kenneth Branagh, known for his film adaptations of Shakespearean plays and has starred in blockbusters such as Harry Potter, Hamlet and Henry V has been a long-standing supporter and patron of the Shakespeare Shorts competition. He was joined this year by actress and writer Lolita Chakrabarti, who has worked extensively on stage and screen. Recently, in 2023, she adapted Maggie O'Farrell's novel Hamnet for the stage, which proved a hit with audiences worldwide.
Lolita’s special Patron’s Choice award was jointly awarded to ‘’Two Emilia's Podcast’’ and ‘’Cannot Sleep’’ and Kenneth’s Patron also selected ‘’Two Emilia's Podcast.’’
Commenting on the five films, Lolita Chakrabarti said:
‘’There’s not one that I didn’t love. I thought they were so different; they said such different things. They used surrealism and reality and emotion and intent. Ideas, representation, dreams, sleep – so many Shakespearean things are crammed into these few minutes of films. Really, really well done. You’ve transported me to other worlds, and that’s what I wanted. That’s what I would ask from any storytelling.’’
Kenneth Branagh commented:
‘’What a great pleasure to once again be part of the Shakespeare Shorts event. As ever, the standard of the films was extremely high, and a pleasure to watch in all cases.
‘’They are all worthy winners, and I am excited to see more work in the future from all these filmmakers, but as I have been asked to make a Patron’s choice, I will!’’
The winning films will be showcased in the exhibition space at Shakespeare’s New Place this summer, providing an opportunity for the public to experience these remarkable works in person. Organisers will also be playing ‘’HOME’’ a short film by Rustle Up Productions, which was written and directed by Virginia Gilbert during the lockdowns.
Audiences can also watch the pre-recorded Awards Ceremony on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsJPA71UVMY.
For more information about the winners and Shakespeare Shorts, please visit https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespeare-shorts/previous-winners/shakespeare-shorts-2024/.