CinemaGrand Theft Hamlet: Film inspired by Shakespeare and made in GTA gets trailer

Global distributor, streaming service and producer, MUBI brings you the award-winning documentary and festival hit Grand Theft Hamlet exclusively for the platform worldwide, on a date to be announced, after theatrical releases in the United Kingdom and United States.

Winner of two British Independent Film Awardsin the categories Best New Director – Documentary (award for directors Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane) and the Raindance Maverick Awardwhich celebrates bold, creative and innovative filmmakers, the film was also shortlisted for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer at the EE Bafta Film Awards 2025.

Grand Theft Hamlet tells the story of two unemployed actors who attempt the seemingly impossible task of putting together a full production of Hamletfrom William Shakespearein the ultraviolent world of Grand Theft Autofilmed entirely within the game.

After its world premiere at SXSW 2024 (winner of the Documentary Feature Jury Award), the film, written and directed by Pinny Grylls (winner of BFI & Chanel Luminous Gala Filmmaker Award 2024), and Sam Crane had a successful trajectory in international festivals. It was shown in official festival selections, such as Hot Docs 2024, CPH:DOX 2024, BFI London Film Festival (including IMAX screening), Visions du Réel 2024, Melbourne International Film Festival 2024, Cambridge Film Festival 2024, Leeds Film Festival 2024and in DMZDocs of Korea in 2024, where he won the Grand Prize in the Frontier competition.

It was also presented at Sitges Film Festival in Spain (winner of Best Documentary), in Vancouver International Film Festival (winner of the Spectrum Audience Award), in Hamptons International Film Festivalwhere he participated in the Competition, and in Philadelphia Film Festivalin which he received an Honorable Mention. The film was also shortlisted for the Audience Choice Award at the Cinema Eye Honors.

Check out the synopsis and trailer for Grand Theft Hamlet:

January 2021. The UK is in its third lockdown and all entertainment venues remain closed. For theater actors Sam Crane and Mark Oosterveen, the future looks bleak. As the pandemic drags on, Mark — single and childless — feels increasingly socially isolated, while Sam panics about how he will support his young family. They spend their days in the online digital world of Grand Theft Auto and, when they come across a theater within the game, they have an idea: put on a complete production of Hamlet inside the game.
Sam’s wife, documentary filmmaker Pinny, joins the game too, as a filmmaker avatar, to record their journey. The film follows the duo’s ridiculous, hilarious and heartwarming adventure as they face off against violent gamblers (griefers) and discover surprising truths about life, friendship and the enduring power of Shakespeare.