Yahoo Lifestyle ‘Hamlet’ Starring Riz Ahmed Bought by Focus Features for International Rights (EXCLUSIVE)
Focus Features has bought international rights to “Hamlet,” Aneil Karia’s London-set modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s famed play starring Oscar winner Riz Ahmed.
Morfydd Clark (“Saint Maud,” “Rings of Power”) and Joe Alwyn (“Kinds of Kindness”) also star in the film, which wrapped production at the end of last year and was acquired by Focus Features some time ago. CAA is repping North American rights, while WME Independent handled international sales.
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In this latest interpretation of “Hamlet,” Ahmed plays the titular lead, a man who is haunted by his father’s ghost and moves from elite London to the city’s underground, from Hindu temples to homeless tent cities. He embarks on a violent journey to avenge his father’s murder, ultimately questioning his own role in the family’s corruption.
The film was penned by Michael Lesslie (“Macbeth”). Ahmed produced “Hamlet” on behalf of his production company Left-Handed Films with Allie Moore. The film was also produced by Michael Lesslie’s Storyteller Films and producer Jim Wilson (“Under The Skin”).
Ahmed was last seen in Christos Nikou’s “Fingernails” in which he starred alongside Jeremy Allen White, Luke Wilson and Jessie Buckley. The film won the FIPRESCI prize at San Sebastian Film Festival. He was Oscar nominated for best actor for 2021’s “Sound of Metal” and won the best live action short film Oscar in 2022 for “The Long Goodbye.”
While in Cannes, Focus Features picked up domestic rights to Yorgos Lanthimos‘s next film, “Bugonia” which will reteam the filmmaker with Oscar-winner Emma Stone and “Kinds of Kindness” who also star in the Palme d’Or contender “Kinds of Kindness.”
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