With well over 400 film and TV adaptations made of his works—more than 80 of Hamlet alone—William Shakespeare is credited as being the world’s most filmed author. And though they’re now synonymous with “high” culture, his works were always intended as popular entertainment, which is perhaps why Shakespeare and cinema have always so successfully aligned. Even when his words are amended, transposed, or pared away entirely, Shakespeare’s stories, characters, and imagery are able to translate seamlessly between countries and cultures around the world.

In this spirit, and to commemorate the 400^th anniversary of his death, Bending the Bard: Cinematic Twists on Shakespeare presents seventeen “unconventional” cinematic adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays. Freed from restrictions of a certain time, location, or even language, the filmmakers in this series have created works that both reflect and transcend their immediate cultural origins. The films span eight countries and seven decades of filmmaking, with genres ranging from sci-fi, Western, queer cinema, war propaganda, musical, and horror. . . to a samurai Macbeth, a Bollywood Othello, and a Finnish neo-noir Hamlet set in a rubber duck factory. Bringing together well-known classics alongside lesser-seen adaptations, Bending the Bard celebrates these unique, inventive films as well as the powerful way in which Shakespeare’s universal stories have become a shared global language.

Download a printable PDF of the series schedule