WORCESTERSHIRE’S budding film-makers and fans of the great bard are being invited to pay a visit to Stratford-upon-Avon next month for an annual festival offering outdoor screenings, a short film competition as well as film and animation workshops celebrating Shakespeare’s influence on film.

The Shakespeare Film Festival is an opportunity for all those Shakespeare lovers to dig a little deeper into the poet and writer’s work and the way it has been used over the years on the big screen.

Organised by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, it is being staged from Thursday September 21 until Sunday September 23.

The festival started in 2013 - with actor, director, producer and screenwriter Sir Kenneth Branagh as its patron – and invited people to enter a short film competition. This attracted entries from all over the world.

Since then it has expanded and evolved and, for the first time this year, includes a series of outdoor screenings of contemporary films inspired by Shakespeare in the Great Garden at Shakespeare’s New Place, Chapel Street, Stratford.

The festival opens on Thursday September 21 at 7pm with a screening of Omkara – a Bollywood adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello. Visitors can see how this popular Indian crime drama from 2006 was inspired by the bard.

This is followed on Friday at 7pm by a screening of Disney’s The Lion King – an animation set in east Africa, which is heavily based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Visitors can enjoy the show and discover some fun facts about Hamlet.

This year’s film competition had a theme of Crossing Borders and attracted 235 entries from 41 countries including the UK, New Zealand, Iran and Romania. On Saturday September 23 at 7pm people can enjoy an outdoor screening of three finalists and the winner of the coveted Shakespeare Shorts competition, judged by Sir Kenneth, will be announced.

Elizabeth Dollimore, from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, said: “Shakespeare’s work has not only changed the stage forever but has massively influenced film as well.

“The festival aims to use the power of film to reach new audiences in the appreciation for Shakespeare, as well as a platform for film makers to present their vision in a fresh and creative way.

“We’re delighted that the festival has grown from strength to strength and excited to be able to present these films in the historic grounds of Shakespeare’s New Place for the very first time.”

Budding film makers can also take part in a number of workshops in the art of film making and animation.

An animation workshop with Birmingham based animation director and Yamination Studios' Drew Roper and animation talent, Tim Allen (Shaun the Sheep, Fantastic Mr Fox) will take place at The Shakespeare Centre, Henley Street, on Saturday September from 10.30am to 12.30pm.

Participants can find out how a stop-motion animation is made, craft their creations out of plasticine and then animate them to come to life.

A film making workshops will follow on Saturday at the same venue from 2pm to 4.30pm. People can join experts from Herbert Media to learn some of the basics of film making. It will offer a hands-on, practical introduction to the tips and tricks of shooting a short movie - from camera staging and blocking, to an actor’s inner motivation; while still hitting their marks. Participants will be given a concise overview of the low budget film making process.

Tickets for both workshops cost £20 and can be obtained by visiting https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/visit/whats-on/shakespeare-film-festival-2017/

• Visitors to Shakespeare’s New Place will also get a chance to see the magnificent two-tonne hand-made oak entrance doors and frame crafted by Worcestershire master cabinet maker John Bevan and his team based at Kyre, near Tenbury Wells. Installed about a year ago, the doors and frame were made as they would have been 400 years ago using traditional skills.

• New Place is the site of Shakespeare’s last home and where he wrote many of his famous plays. Although the house was demolished in 1759, the garden has been designed to commemorate the site’s importance and allow visitors to make their own personal connection with the bard.