The Victoria Shakespeare Society, producer of The Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival, announces their first film festival as a fundraiser for the festival.
The works and life of William Shakespeare have been portrayed on film in many various and exciting ways, and continue to have a lasting impact. To celebrate Shakespeare’s influence and to raise funds for the Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival, for three Saturdays this fall, the Victoria Shakespeare Society will present its first-ever film series, Shakespeare in Film, supported by Silver City Victoria Cinemas:
Baz Lurhmann’s Romeo + Juliet on October 26th, Shakespeare in Love on November 2nd, andForbidden Planet on November 9th. All showings are at 10:15 a.m. at SilverCity Victoria Cinemas, 3130 Tillicum Road.
The series explores the intricacies of Shakespeare through a modern pop culture lens.
First, it’s Shakespeare interpreted: Baz Lurhmann’s Romeo + Juliet (1996). This gangsin-LA 90s rock and roll take on a timeless love story is a modern classic, with stellarperformances by then-ingénues Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio. This film broughta masterwork into sharp focus for a generation. Before the screening, there will be a contest for best Shakespearean bedclothes!
Shakespeare in Love (1998) is Shakespeare inspired. Written in part by Tom Stoppard (Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead), this film takes a romantic look at what might have happened in the lead-up to the first performance of Romeo and Juliet. A brilliant script, filled with Shakespearean inside jokes, and gorgeous performances by Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes, make this an entertaining romp through the theatre world of 17th century London. Before the film, Janelle Jenstead and Erin Kelly, professors of English at UVic and curators of the “Shakespeare’s Big Books” exhibition at Legacy Gallery, will engage in a spirited debate on whether the film is a romantic paean to the Bard, or wrongheaded in its presentation of revisionist history.
The final film in the series is Forbidden Planet (1956), Shakespeare re-imagined. This classic Hollywood sci-fi film – starring a young Leslie Nielsen – borrowed its essence from The Tempest, and is widely regarded as a progenitor of science fiction films: it was the first film to feature an interstellar spacecraft, the first to take place on a planet completely away from the Earth, and was the first film to feature a score of entirely electronic music. Come early for the 50s Intergalactic Costume Contest, as well as a short talk on the influence of the film from a surprise guest!
Celebrate Shakespeare and support the GVSF with Romeo + Juliet on October 26th, Shakespeare in Love on November 2nd, and Forbidden Planet on November 9th.
Special events begin at 10 am, and all screenings are at 10:15 am, at Silver City Victoria Cinemas, 3130 Tillicum Road. Tickets are $10 each, and are available at The Papery, Ivy’s Bookshop and TicketRocket, as well as in person from VSS staff and board members.
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