The 70th BFI London Film Festival opened on October 7 with Elsinore, Simon Stone’s drama starring Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman. AP reported the opening, while Reuters photographs documented cast arrivals for the European premiere in London. The BFI designated the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall as the opening gala venue.
Written by Stephen Beresford, the film follows actor Ian Charleson as he prepares to play Hamlet at the National Theatre in 1989 while living with AIDS, according to the BFI and Press Association. Scott portrays Charleson and also serves as a producer. The story places a stage performance at the centre of an actor’s confrontation with mortality.
Press Association reported that Colman plays Charleson’s physician, Dr Margaret Johnson, while Billie Piper portrays casting director Patsy Pollock. Johnny Flynn plays Richard Eyre, then director of the National Theatre, and Juliet Stevenson appears as actress Sylvia Syms, who played Gertrude in that production of Hamlet.
Speaking to Press Association on the red carpet, Stone described sharing the film with London’s theatre and film community as particularly meaningful because some people attending were portrayed in the story or knew those represented. He also presented the evening as a celebration of Charleson’s life and the wider gay community.
According to AP, the festival runs through October 18 and includes 251 titles from 88 countries, spanning films, shorts, television and immersive works. Public screenings are a central feature, and the programme extends to ten partner venues across the United Kingdom, giving audiences outside London access to selected films.
The BFI says Elsinore will reach selected US cinemas through Focus Features on November 20, 2026, followed by a UK cinema release through Studiocanal on January 29, 2027. Those release dates take the opening film beyond the festival audience, with its theatrical rollout continuing into next year.
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