Hamnet (1 screening) Hall 1

Hamnet – In the Name of the Son, directed by Chloé Zhao, is an intense and intimate exploration of loss, love, and artistic inspiration, told through the eyes of Agnes (Jessie Buckley), the wife of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal).
Set in rural England in the 16th century, the film immerses us in the everyday life of the couple, who are raising three children—Susanna (Bodhi Rae Breathnach) and the twins Judith and Hamnet (Olivia Lynes and Jacobi Jupe)—in a fragile balance between family affection and the outside world. When the premature death of young Hamnet strikes the family, grief pushes Agnes to confront the loss. Through her sensitive and penetrating gaze, we witness the fracture that opens within the family and the attempt to piece together the fragments of a devastated life.
This is not the story of William Shakespeare as an isolated genius, but as a man marked by private mourning that would eventually be reflected in his most famous work. At the time, the names Hamnet and Hamlet were considered interchangeable, and the film plays with this historical ambiguity to suggest that the tragedy of the son may have sparked the creation of the theatrical Hamlet. But in this narrative, the beating heart of Hamnet is Agnes, capable of loving and enduring with fierce grace.
The result is a quiet celebration of what remains—love, memory, and the mysterious alchemy that transforms life and death into art.