Hamnet Premiere

Full disclosure: I did some work for BFI earlier this year and really enjoyed it.

Art or entertainment?

“The difference between a ‘movie’ and a ‘film’ is that one is scared to death of boring you for a second and the latter refuses to entertain you for a moment.” — director Alan Parker via Neil Williams

I’m not much of a “film buff”.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good film. My youth owes a lot to The English Patient, Pulp Fiction, and Real Genius.

But I confess that I tend to look down my nose on people who (I think) spend too much time watching films (or TV, or TikTok). Look how I’ve even gone so far as just putting those three in the same bucket! Ouch.

I tell myself “Look what a great Buddhist I am: eschewing entertainment for more substantial pursuits.” But that’s missing the entire point. Sure, entertainment for the sake of distraction isn’t helpful. But real art that truly touches us can transform us in ways we never anticipated.

Entertainment as distraction is unhelpful but art as a vehicle for growth can be truly transformational.

Showing up

I was home last Saturday enjoying a relaxed weekend, blissfully programming music with strangers using Nudel when I received a message from a friend letting me know she had an extra ticket to see Hamnet with her and her daughter.

“Meh.” I thought to myself, “That could be cool, I haven’t been to a film in a while. But can I really be bothered to schlep into Central London today?”

In the end, I decided, “Why not?” It was a great decision.

I should’ve expected something wonderful when my friend mentioned it was part of the London Film Festival or when I realised it was screening in the Royal Festival Hall and saw the red carpet out front.

The screen was massive, the crowd equally so.

We settled into our seats and the lights dimmed.

Kristy Matheson, BFI Festivals Director came out and spoke for a few minutes and introduced, Sadiq Khan the Mayor of London, who came out and spoke for a few minutes about London being the greatest city in the world (I cannot disagree).

He then then turned and introduced Sam Mendes. Sam Mendes walked out on stage and spoke for a few minutes before introducing none other than Steven Spielberg!

Steven Spielberg came out and spoke for a few minutes before introducing Director Chloe Zhao, screenwriter Maggie O’Farrell and cast members Paul Mescal, Jessie Buckley, Emily Watson, Jacobi Jupe, Noah Jupe, Olivia Lynes, and several others. It was wild.

Chloe Zhao spoke about the experience of making the film “on this island” and how the cast & crew became their own “village” with their own customs and rituals.

She invited us to do a little guided breathing meditation ritual ahead of the film as an entire audience. It was relaxing, energising, and really created a sense of coming together as a community to enjoy the film.

The film itself was beautiful.

It was incredibly well-acted with great set design & costumes, gorgeous cinematography and incredible music by Max Richter – even if it re-used the well-worn track “On the Nature of Daylight” at the climactic finale pulling me somewhat out of the moment.

What really got me was the reminder that art can be a vehicle for us to process the most intense of human emotions. The suggestion that Shakespeare used Hamlet to cope with his son’s death in the only way he knew how, and the incredible rendering of the last 5 minutes of the film were so moving.

Realising how much I was feeling and how little I’ve let myself feel for a long while was genuinely cathartic. I haven’t cried so much at a film for a very long time and it felt wonderful.

I haven’t cried so much at a film for a very long time and it felt wonderful.

Afterwards, everyone left the auditorium and I realised the audience was filled with A-list celebs who had come to see the film (and support their friends and colleagues) as well as punters like me who had scored a £10 ticket from a friend.

Milling about on the mezzanine, I kept spotting people I recognised almost instantly (like Andrew Scott) and folks I nearly recognised like Daisy Edgar Jones.

Another familiar person glided past me in a long black dress and my friend’s 15 year-old daughter started freaking out. It was Gracie Abrams. My friend’s daughter worked up the courage to say hello.

Gracie was very gracious and took a selfie with my friend’s daughter, gave her a hug, and told her she hoped to see her at a show. I’m pretty sure it made her week.

During their short conversation, I stood on the side in my t-shirt & hoodie and running shoes (I hadn’t realised I was coming to a premier) and realised that Gracie Abrams was there with her parents: filmmaker JJ Abrams and his publicist wife, Katie McGrath. They both smiled at me and I could tell it was fun for them to see their daughter meeting yet another an adoring fan.

My friend’s daughter was positively buzzing for the rest of the evening.

I wasn’t immune to the celebrity magic, either. I was literally surrounded by people who have spent their lives inspiring millions of other people — helping them to laugh, to cry, to see their own lives in a new light, to somehow rethink, double-down, pivot, or even find a reason to simply carry on and it reminded me that I have some obligation to do the same in my own work, in whatever tiny form that might take.

Postscript

As I walked across the Thames to go home, I looked back at the moon rising over Southbank, there was a live band playing on the gravel at low-tide, and everything felt a little bit more magical than usual — reminding me why I pay so much to live in London.

The fact that BFI put this experience together in the heart of my favourite city and made it possible for average folks to rub shoulders with A-listers and enjoy amazing filmmaking together was pretty special.

BFI really is a national treasure.

See more of what I’ve done in 2025.

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