The Hamlet Syndrome

Presented by the European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macao and Goethe-Institut Hongkong in association with the Broadway Cinematheque, from 27 July (Thursday) to 13 August (Sunday), EU-Asia Docs presents a selection of 14 documentaries addresses a wide range of topics, including human rights, women’s rights, #metoo movement, LGBTQI+ rights, minority issues, and the plight of foreign domestic workers, which offer a broad perspective on the struggles of different people and groups from all over the world.

Together with the German Consulate General Hong Kong, Goethe-Institut Hongkong is pleased to present the German co-production THE HAMLET SYNDROME, a film that documents a group of young Ukrainians coping with the trauma of war through a theatre project, as part of the Festival programme.

About the Film

Directors: Elwira Niewiera, Piotr Rosolowski
Germany, Poland / 2022 / 85 mins / In Ukrainian, Russian with English subtitles

Winner, Jury Award, Hong Kong International Film Festival 2023

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 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.