MOVIE NEWS – Already showered with awards and widely considered a leading Oscar contender, Hamnet is now conquering an entirely new field. As the UK’s The Independent reports, the countryside where the film was shot has turned into a real-life tourist attraction.

Hamnet takes audiences back to the early years of William Shakespeare’s life and career. The world’s most famous English playwright and his family lived in Stratford-upon-Avon in the second half of the 16th century, and the filmmakers needed to recreate the atmosphere of that long-gone town on screen. The catch is that modern Stratford is a hugely popular tourist destination – which, over time, has effectively become a visitor-friendly “heritage village,” making it impossible to convincingly capture the authentic feel of Elizabethan England. Recognizing this, the film’s location scouts spent more than a year and a half combing the English countryside in search of a truly authentic setting for the period drama. Their efforts paid off surprisingly quickly: around 90 kilometers from Stratford, they discovered Weobley – a sleepy village that is still inhabited and whose protected historic houses faithfully preserve the atmosphere of Elizabethan England.

In the summer of 2024, the Hamnet crew set out to transform the center of Weobley into a 16th-century town. Roads were covered with mud and straw, signs referencing the modern era were removed or concealed, and there was little else to do: in no time, the production had conjured up the Stratford-upon-Avon from which one of the greatest playwrights in history would begin his journey.

Thanks to the awards avalanche now pouring down on Hamnet, tourist groups are already being organized to track down the film’s shooting locations – putting Weobley and the surrounding unspoiled landscape of Herefordshire firmly in the spotlight. Local tourism businesses are already talking about the “Hamnet effect,” and they have prepared to welcome visitors.

So far, Hamnet has received 56 awards and 238 nominations, including two Golden Globes for Best Film and Best Actress (Jessie Buckley). Expectations are high that the production will soon become a strong contender at the Academy Awards as well.

Based on Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, Hamnet tells a devastating story. Young William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife Agnes (Buckley) lose their little son, Hamnet – and the struggle to process their grief drives them toward extraordinary acts.

(Hamnet – now playing in Hungarian cinemas!)

UIP Dunafilm