M unich: A film byHollywooddirector Roland Emmerich portraying William Shakespeare as a fraud has won six German Film Prize trophies.
The six wins by “Anonymous,” starring Welsh actor Rhys Ifans and filmed atBerlin’s Babelsberg Studios, came mostly in technical categories such as production design, costumes, cinematography and editing.
The English-language film theorizes that Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, penned works such as “King Lear” and “Macbeth,” and it depicts William Shakespeare as a drunken buffoon who could barely write his own name.
When “Anonymous” was released in theatres last year, it was criticized by some Shakespeare scholars who said the theory was nonsense. It failed to earn major revenues at worldwide box offices, but did play well inGermanyand even picked up an Oscar nomination in theUnited Statesfor costume design.
Emmerich, better known for directing disaster movies such as “Independence Day” and “2012,” told Reuters he was surprised to win so many awards, but they had not altered the way he thought about the film.
“Yes, we got some criticism inBritain, but the film was taken up really well inGermanyand in theUnited Statestoo,” he said after the ceremony. “The fact that the film is getting good recognition again hasn’t changed things for me.”
The German-born director praised working in his homeland and his local crew, saying “it’s unbelievable how good it can be.”
