The Los Angeles Press Club announced Wednesday the historical drama “Hamnet” has won its 2026 Veritas Award for best film based on or inspired by real events and people.
The award, now in its 11th year, is judged by the club’s roughly 1,000 members and recognizes films that combine fidelity to historical subject matter with artistic excellence, according to the organization.
The film is nominated for eight Academy Awards, including best picture.
“Hamnet” depicts the relationship between William Shakespeare and Agnes Hathaway and the death of their son, Hamnet. While both the film and the novel are fictionalized accounts, the story draws on known events in Shakespeare’s life, including his 1582 marriage to Hathaway and the death of their son in 1596.
“The impact of `Hamnet’ does not come from its historical accuracy; instead, it comes from the imagined emotional energy that inspired one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies,” Los Angeles Press Club President Danny Bakewell Jr. said in a statement.
“Hamnet” was directed by Chloé Zhao, who co-wrote the screenplay with Maggie O’Farrell, author of the novel on which the film is based.
The film stars Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Zac Wishart, James Lintern, Joe Alwyn, Justine Mitchell, Eva Wishart, Effie Linnen and Emily Watson.
This year’s runners-up were “Nuremberg” and “The Lost Bus,” according to the press club.
Past recipients of the Veritas Award include “Spotlight,” “Hidden Figures,” “The Post,” “Green Book,” “Bombshell,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “King Richard,” and “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
Officials said they are working to host an awards presentation at the organization’s headquarters in Historic Filipinotown on March 12.
Founded in 1913, the Los Angeles Press Club represents journalists working across print, broadcast, documentary and online media throughout Southern California.