Women and Female-Identifying Filmmakers Invited to Enter Shakespeare Shorts Film Competition as Entries Open

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT) has today [6 December] announced that entries for its Shakespeare Shorts Film Competition are now open. Inspired by its new multi-year theme, The Women Who Made Shakespeare, this year, the judges are especially interested in seeing entries from women and female-identifying people, of all ages and abilities, anywhere in the world.

Launched by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust with Sir Kenneth Branagh as its patron, Shakespeare Shorts is an annual short film competition, celebrating the continued impact of William Shakespeare’s work and championing emerging cinematic talents.

This year, the Trust is inviting budding filmmakers to submit creative shorts inspired by its new, multi-year theme: ‘The Women Who Made Shakespeare’. This theme explores the sometimes hidden, often less-explored, and unfortunately, erased and forgotten stories of the women who both influenced Shakespeare during his lifetime and the female-identifying people who have contributed to his legacy.

In line with the ambitious theme, judges are keen to spotlight women and female-identifying filmmakers. However, people of all ages and backgrounds are welcome and encouraged to enter.

‘’Since 2013, we have ignited the imagination of aspiring filmmakers worldwide, whilst inviting new audiences to engage with Shakespeare in a creative way. We’re delighted to bring Shakespeare Shorts back and welcome entries from people of any age, any nationality and at any stage in their cinematic career.

‘’With the launch of ‘The Women Who Made Shakespeare’, 2024 is already an exciting year for the Trust. From animations to a documentary style short, we can’t wait to see how filmmakers creatively engage with this theme, and we’re especially excited to be shining a spotlight on female voices.’’

Commented Jennifer Shufflebotham, Audience Engagement Manager at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

Entries can be created using any form of technology from a smartphone to camera equipment.

New for this year is the ‘Shakespeare Shorter Shorts’ category, where judges are inviting filmmakers to submit short form content up to three minutes long for Tik Tok and Instagram Reels.

The categories include

Best film inspired by the theme ‘The Women Who Made Shakespeare’
Best ‘Shakespeare Shorter Shorts’
Best Shakespeare-themed animation
Best Shakespeare film or animation by a young filmmaker (aged 7-11)
Best Shakespeare film or animation by a young filmmaker (aged 12-17)
Previous winners include Polish film-maker Agnieszka Slisz who beat more than 40 entries from around the world with her film Julia in 2013. A Shakespeare themed animation movie inspired by Romeo and Juliet won the coveted 2020 competition. Julia Shalimova, a Ukrainian director, was awarded the prestigious title with her short animation film “Romeo + Juliet?”.

To submit your entry and for more information regarding guidelines, categories, and deadlines, please visit https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespeare-shorts/.

For more information on ‘The Women Who Made Shakespeare’ visit https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/a-multi-year-project/.