Shanghai INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, 10-13 June 2016;
Shanghai Film museum, Beijing China film archive, Guangdong times museum, Chengdu eying 1958 cinema and Wuhan zhongnan theatre, November - december
In June world-renowned actor Ian McKellen visited China for BFI Presents: Shakespeare on Film, as part of the British Council’s Shakespeare Lives - a major programme of events and activities celebrating Shakespeare’s work in the 400th anniversary year of his death. He launched Shakespeare on Film at Shanghai International Film Festival on 13 June. In November and December, Shakespeare on Film starts its nationwide screening, covering five cities in China.
Curated by the BFI (British Film Institute), Shakespeare on Film is a collection of films showing how British cinema has transformed and reimagined Shakespeare’s work. Most famous in China for his role as Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, Ian is widely regarded as one of the world’s finest Shakespearian actors. Twice nominated for an Oscar, and recipient of every major theatrical award in the UK, Ian has been praised as one of the greatest Shakespearean actors of our time. In June, as part of Shakespeare on Film, Ian attended an exclusive screening of Richard III, in which he plays the leading role.
With no other writer impacting so greatly on cinema, Shakespeare on Film explores how filmmakers have adapted, been inspired by and interpreted Shakespeare’s work for the big screen. The collection includes films such as Richard III, with Ian; Romeo and Juliet directed by Franco Zeffirelli; Henry V and Hamlet starring; Laurence Olivier; King Lear directed by Peter Brook, Macbeth directed by Roman Polanski, Hamlet starred by Sir Kenneth Branagh, and the BFI’s new silent Shakespeare compilation, Play On! Shakespeare in Silent Film. Altogether with nearly 70 screenings across five cities in China of 18 film adaption, and a series of talks and seminars from BFI expert Robin Baker, Shakespeare on Film brings you a fresh experience of being in cinema!
Please click here to see film screening schedules.
