Shakespeare Film Festival
Be inspired by Shakespeare with our Short Film Competition.
06-21 October 2012
The Shakespeare Film Festival is now over, but you can still get involved with the Shakespeare Short Film Competition.
The new Shakespeare Film Festival developed by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust with Stratford Picturehouse and patroned by Sir Kenneth Branagh took place October 2012. Audiences enjoyed a two-week festival featuring a programme of iconic films and adaptations of Shakespeare's works with guest speakers talking about the dramatist's impact on cinema across the ages.
From Gnomeo & Juliet matinees for children, to Henry V, the first Shakespeare Film Festival will feature a programme of iconic films and adaptations of Shakespeare's work. Many of the screenings will have quest speakers including leading actors and directors discussing Shakespeare's impact on cinema across the ages. Whether your taste runs to rare archive silent movies or classics like the Burton/Taylor Taming of the Shrew the festival promises something for everyone. A new competition for films inspired by Shakespeare's works will be launched during the festival.
Venues: Stratford Picturehouse and the Shakespeare Centre
6 October - Shakespeare Centre (evening)
Tempest (regional premier)
Fifth Column Films - film adaptation of The Tempest set in Oval, London.
By invitation only
7 October - Shakespeare Centre (8pm) A Midsummer Night's Dream Originally made for TV from Peter Hall's 1959 stage play but never transmitted. Featuring Vanessa Redgrave and Charles Laughton. Pre screening talk by Professor Russell Jackson. £7/£4. Tickets on the door.
12 October - Stratford Picturehouse (8pm)
The Taming of the Shrew (Burton/Taylor) with a pre-screening talk 'A Woman Scorned - Shakespeare writing women' £10/£7 Book here.
13 October - Stratford Picturehouse (10.30am)
Kids Club screening of Gnomeo and Juliet with a short drama workshop. Drama workshop with our acting company Shakespeare Aloud! and Tread the Boards Theatre Company. The screening starts at 11:15 after the drama workshop. Book here.
14 October - Stratford Picturehouse (7pm)
Othello (Olivier) with pre-screening talk 'The Leading Role' with Professor Stanley Wells in conversation with an actor. £10/£7 Book here.
18 October - Stratford Picturehouse (7pm)
Silent Shakespeare with musician accompaniment by Neil Brand. Pre-screening talk by Neil Brand, world expert on music and silent movies. £10/£7 Book here.
19 October - Stratford Picturehouse (8pm)
Patrick Stewart in Macbeth (Goold/Stewart/Fleetwood) Most recent screen adaptation from the Olivier award winning stage production with pre-screening talk 'Madness and Marriage'
£10/£7 Book here.
20 October - Stratford Picturehouse (10.30am)
Kids Club - The Lion King with animal puppet-making workshop. Puppet-making workshop with our acting company Shakespeare Aloud! and Tread the Boards Theatre Company. The screening starts at 11:15 after the puppet-making workshop. Book here.
20 October - Stratford Picturehouse (8pm)
Much Ado About Nothing (Branagh) with pre-screening talk 'Shakespeare, Movies and Music' with John Woolf, head of music at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. £10/£7 Book here.
21 October - Stratford Picturehouse (7pm) Henry V with Professor Russell Jackson in conversation with a special guest and the launch of the Shakespeare Short Film Competition. £15/£10 Book here.



