To be, or to not be? That’s the query echoing through a derelict Soviet-era retirement home in Armenia, where a gaggle of residents rehearse for an original play which will even dazzle William Shakespeare. The play, Shakespeare’s Sins, sees the characters of the famous playwright, who is commonly simply called “The Bard,” confront him over their tragic fates. And a documentary crew was there to capture the method on film.
“From casting to premiere night, Outliving Shakespeare follows the retiree theater troupe bonding in and between rehearsals, transforming from a lighthearted, warm take a look at the innocent dignity of aging, right into a deeper, thought-provoking exploration of the loneliness that accompanies it,” reads a synopsis for the film. “Because the production unfolds, the theater mirrors reality.”
Outliving Shakespeare, premiering Tuesday in the Luminous strand on the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), comes from directors Inna Sahakyan and Ruben Ghazaryan. For the latter, it marks the feature directorial debut.
The production from Armenia-based Bars Media and the Netherlands-based Bind features Vardan Hovhannisyan, Sahakyan and Mariam Davtyan as producers for Bars, with Joram Willink, Esther van Driesum and Rosalien Hollestelle as co-producers for Bind.
Ghazaryan previously collaborated with Sahakyan on her animated feature Aurora’s Sunrise because the editor and live-action shooting director. Aurora’s Sunrise was Armenia’s 2023 entry for the very best international feature film Oscar.
Now, the duo is bringing Outliving Shakespeare to the world. In spite of everything, all of the world’s a stage.
“I’ve all the time been drawn to observing elders — their lives hold so many layers of affection, humor, longing, and regret, all expressed with a type of honesty that only age makes possible,” explains Sahakyan. “In Outliving Shakespeare, I desired to capture those shifting colours of elderhood inside a dilapidated retirement home in Armenia, where a gaggle of residents decided to rehearse Shakespeare as a technique to bring rhythm and meaning into their days.”
Adds Ghazaryan: “As life and theater begin to merge, their performances reveal truths they may never articulate in unusual conversation. What unfolds will not be simply a story about aging or acting, but about memory, love and the deep human desire to be acknowledged. Before the curtain falls, each of them finds a moment to be truly seen.”
THR can now exclusively premiere the primary trailer for Outliving Shakespeare. Test it out below, and prepare for the love, the laughs, the drama and rather more.