An award-winning documentary filmed within Grand Theft Auto Online will be released in US theaters next year.
Grand Theft Hamlet was filmed during the COVID-19 lockdown and tells the story of two out-of-work actors who decide to stage a performance of Hamlet in GTA Online.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, arthouse distributor Mubi has now acquired U.S. film rights and global streaming rights to the documentary.
The film premiered at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival earlier this year and won the Jury Award for Documentary.
A review in The Hollywood Reporter called the film “innovative, wildly entertaining and often moving.”
The film will be screened in the UK as part of this month’s BFI London Film Festival, but all five screenings have sold out.
“January 2021,” the official description reads. “The UK has just entered its third lockdown and all theaters are still closed. The future looks bleak for actors Sam and Mark.
“As the pandemic continues, Mark, who lives alone, is becoming increasingly socially isolated, and Sam is anxious about how he will support his family.
“They channel their middle-aged frustrations by immersing their avatars in the gruesomely violent yet beautifully rendered virtual world of Grand Theft Auto Online. They steal cars and shoot strangers, but they also find quiet moments of reflection by walking through meadows filled with wildflowers.
“I stumbled across the theater during a gaming session and got the idea. How about staging Hamlet in a game? Well, there are a few reasons for this. Mainly because most people in the game are interested in murderous destruction, not respectful appreciation of theatrical productions.
“But wasn’t theater a dangerous and violent business in Shakespeare’s time, and wasn’t Hamlet, a play about revenge, a perfect choice here?”
