Hamile

Alternative title: Tonga Hamlet, The
Synopsis: Film version of Hamlet of a stage production. It is spoken in English, and set among the Frafra people of northern Ghana. performed by students of the University of Ghana School of Music and Drama.
Language: English
Country: Ghana
Medium: Film
Technical information: Black-and-white / Sound
Year of release: 1964
Duration: 120 mins

Director

Terry Bishop

Producer

Cinematographer

Writer

Music

Contributor

Cast

Production type: Fiction Films
Historical period: 1960s
Plays: Hamlet
Subjects: Drama
Keywords: Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Black actors; Student productions

Notes: The BFI National Archive holds master preservation material (no viewing copy) of Reel 2 only (2005). Footage shows the entrance of Karim (Horatio), telling Hamile (Hamlet) about the ghost, to Ibrahim (Polonious) giving advice to Laitu (Laertes) and speaking to Habiba (Ophelia).

The Library of Congress holds master material only, no viewing copy (9/2007). The print is c120min.
General: Produced for stage by Joe De Graft.
History: Shown in Great Britain at the Commonwealth Film Festival 1965. The film was never released theatrically in the US but was shown on NET in January 1970. The LC copy comes from this transmission.
Textual information: `The text is unaltered except where it would not make sense in a Frafra community, or where an archaic word obscures the meaning’. (PR handout).
Reviews: Variety 20 October 1965. Holland, David. Films and Filming 12 (October 1965), p. 36-37.