Hamnet screenwriter and director Chloé Zhao and Hamnet author and film co-writer Maggie O’Farrell will come together at the Irish Film Institute on Saturday December 13th for an exclusive in conversation event.  

Hosted by broadcaster Rick O’Shea, Hamnet: From Page to Screen will hear from Zhao and O’Farrell about their collaboration to bring Hamnet from bestselling book to cinematic release. 

Strictly limited tickets for this very special event are now on sale from the IFI Box Office and from ifi.ie. 

Hamnet opens at the IFI on January 9th, 2026. Certificate 12A. Tickets on sale from December 19th at ifi.ie. 

HAMNET 

1580 England. Impoverished Latin tutor William Shakespeare meets free-spirited Agnes, and the pair, captivated by one another, strike up a torrid affair that leads to marriage and three children. Yet as Will pursues a budding theatre career in far-away London, Agnes anchors the domestic sphere alone. When tragedy strikes, the couple’s once-unshakable bond is tested, but their shared experience sets the stage for the creation of Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, Hamlet. From Focus Features and Academy Award® winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao (Nomadland, The Rider) comes a sensitively observed, magnificently crafted tale about the complexities of love and the healing power of art and creativity. 

Based on Maggie O’Farrell’s award-winning novel Hamnet and adapted for the screen by Zhao and O’Farrell, the film stars Academy Award®-nominee Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter), Academy Award®-nominee Paul Mescal (All of Us Strangers), Academy Award®-nominee Emily Watson (Hilary and Jackie, Breaking the Waves) and Joe Alwyn (The Brutalist). 

HAMNET is produced by Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris, Nicolas Gonda, Sam Mendes and Steven Spielberg; executive producers are Kristie Macosko Krieger, Laurie Borg and Zhao. Director of photography, Łukasz Żal; Production designer, Fiona Crombie; Editors, Chloé Zhao, ACE, Affonso Gonçlaves, ACE; Costume designer, Malgosia Turzanska; Music by Max Richter.