SHAKESPEARE

Synopsis

Independent short which adapts characters, speech and themes from Hamlet. The film focuses on the fractured world of schizophrenics inside a psychiatric institution, with a Shakespearean twist in characters and language.

Language

English

Country

Canada

Medium

Film

Technical information

Colour / Sound

Year of release

2007

Duration

11 mins

Availability

No archive copy or distributor known (11/2011).

Credits

Director

Edward Folger

Producer

Edward Folger; Napatsi Folger; Tara Arnatsiaq-Barnes

Cinematographer

Sinan Inceoz

Writer

Edward Folger

Cast

Colin Munch	Hamlet
Ray Besharah	Dr Polon (Polonius)
Laura Hall	Ophelia
Adam Jarvis	Osric
Cody Camanele	Voltemand
Dave Dawson	Cornelius
Hussein Mohamed	Yorick
Jason Hanson	Guildenstern
Kyle Mayhew	Fortinbras
Mosha Folger	Rosencrantz
Ray Besharah	Ghost voice (Ghost)

Additional Details

Production type

Fiction Films

Plays

Hamlet

Subjects

Drama

Keywords

psychiatry; schizophrenia; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Untrained actors

Notes

General

Filmed in 2006 in Ottawa. Members of a Youth Training Programme comprised the crew, and the cast of actors was largely selected from a local improvisation group. The actors were shown documentaries on schizophrenia and psychiatric institutions, and were given reign to improvise movements, speech, and actions, as long as they remained within the scope of schizophrenia and their characters.

The video is, in part, dedicated to the late Professor Hugh Kenner, author, critic, and inventor of Travesty, a software program that generates nonsense texts that maintain the poetic and/or prose rhythms of a given input sample.

History

Premiered at Saw Video on January 27th, 2007, and was also screened at the National Archives on May 30th, 2007.

Reviews

In an interview, conducted by Danielle Van Wagner in May 2007, Folger discusses the background and evolution of the work, as well as the inspiration he drew from William Shakespeare, experimental film maker Willard Maas, and Hugh Kenner’s Travesty software. Additionally, Folger reflects on the characterisation of the central figures, themes of madness and adaptation and his opinions on the Canadian Shakespearian tradition. A detailed account of the film by Van Wagner is also available: both pieces at http://www.uoguelph.ca/shakespeare/a_folger.cfm (accessed 11/2011).