Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet has received the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the BFI London Film Festival, which reportedly recorded its highest-ever attendance with 235,853 attendees. The U.K.-based festival screened several buzzy films, including Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Bad Apples, and Bugonia this past October.

The event drew a range of talent over its 44 red carpet events. More than 1,000 filmmakers from 79 different countries exhibited their films with 41% of those filmmakers identifying as female or non-binary. Audiences showed up in droves with an occupancy rate increase from 92% in 2024 to 94% this year. 47% were first-time attendees.

Zhao’s film adaptation of New York Times-bestselling author Maggie O’Farrell’s book of the same name, comes on the heels of its People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Hamnet also won the Best Gala Film award at the San Diego International Film Festival. Producers Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes are among the nominees for Best Feature at the Gotham Awards.

The film centers on the emotional journey of William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes, as they venture into the untold love story that inspired Shakespeare’s masterpiece, Hamlet. Oscar-nominees Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley star as the love interests.

Hamnet has a U.S. limited release date of November 27 and a nationwide date of December 12.