The Hamlet Syndrome is a powerful portrait of a vibrant young Ukrainian generation, the first one born after the collapse of the Soviet Union, shaped by the Maidan Revolution of 2013, empowered by political change and scarred by war.?
A few months prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, five young women and men participate in a unique stage production that attempts to relate their war experiences to Shakespeare’s Hamlet. ?For each of them, the stage is a platform to express their grief and trauma through the famous question, “to be or not to be,” a dilemma that applies to their own lives.?The protagonists fight against disappointment, powerlessness, and anger, trying to put their lives back in order while processing their painful past. The rehearsals for the play are combined with an intense glimpse into the characters' lives: a powerful portrait of a generation coping with the trauma of war which, after Russia's invasion, is now their present and future alike.
Director Biography
Born in Racibórz, Slaskie, Poland, Elwira Niewiera is a writer and director whose films have won awards at festivals around the world. She is the director of Bulgarian Stories (2007), and, with Piotr Rosolowski, directed Domino Effect (2014), The Prince and the Dybbuk (2017), and The Hamlet Syndrome (2022).
Director and cinematographer Piotr Rosolowski co-wrote the Oscar nominated short documentary "Rabbit à la Berlin" (2009), and directed with Bartosz Konopka, The Art of Disappearing (2013), and, with Elwira Niewiera, co-directed Domino Effect (2014), The Prince and the Dybbuk (2017), and The Hamlet Syndrome (2022).