''H4'' is a 2012 independent American film directed by
Paul Quinn; actor
Harry Lennix
Harry Joseph Lennix III (born November 16, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Terrence "Dresser" Williams in the Robert Townsend film ''The Five Heartbeats'' (1991) and as Boyd Langton in the science-fiction series '' Doll ...
produced the film and stars in the title role.
The film premiered at the 2012 Conference of the Shakespeare Association of America,
[http://www.shakespeareassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/bulletin0112.pdf ] and later showed premiere in competition at the 49th
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...
in 2013.
In November 2014, the film was shown at the
Indie Memphis Film Festival
Indie Memphis, located in Memphis, TN, is an arts organization that runs year-round programs that "inspire, encourage and promote independent films and filmmaking in Memphis." .
Plot
The film is an adaptation that combines
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's plays ''
Henry IV, Part 1'' and ''
Henry IV, Part 2'' and sets them in contemporary
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
. The screenplay was adapted by Dr.
Ayanna Thompson, Professor of English at
Arizona State University, retaining Shakespeare's original language.
According to Lennix, the film is told "from the perspective of black people, acted primarily by black people, and it’s from the black point of view";
he nevertheless describes Shakespeare's themes, and the film's, as "universal".
Thompson describes the script as being "about the politics and political manoeuvring within the African-American community".
Production
Post-production of the film was partly funded by a $25,000
Kickstarter campaign.
In August 2012, a rough cut of the film was previewed at the
International Shakespeare Conference in
Stratford-upon-Avon to international Shakespeare scholars.
The film was scheduled for release in US cinemas in 2015.
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, id=2011032, title=H4
H4 - the movie- completed Kickstarter campaign
2012 films
2010s English-language films