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This year’s BFI London Film Festival will get underway with an eagerly awaited home-town story.
Elsinore, starring Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman, will open the festival on October 7 at the Royal Festival Hall.
The film, directed by Simon Stone (The Dig) and written by Pride screenwriter Stephen Beresford, tackles the life of Scottish actor Ian Charleson as he prepares for the role of his life: Hamlet at the National Theatre in 1974.
At the same time as he stepped onto the Olivier Theatre stage, a few hundred yards from the Royal Festival Hall, the Chariots of Fire star was battling late-stage HIV. His story, and performance, helped change public perceptions of the illness. ‘The rest is silence’ is going to be a pindrop moment in this one.
Co-starring with Scott and Colman – and walking the LFF red carpet – will be Billie Piper, Johnny Flynn, Bridgerton’s Luke Thompson, Monica Dolan, Juliet Stevenson, Heartstopper’s Joe Locke, Adeel Akhtar, Matthew Beard and Peter Mullan.
‘We couldn't be prouder to be able to present this quintessentially London film on the opening night of the BFI London Film Festival,’ says Stone. ‘Ian Charleson had many of his greatest triumphs on the stages of the West End, at the Young Vic and of course the National, where he ended his short but dazzling career playing an unforgettable Hamlet. We are so lucky to have Andrew Scott, a London Hamlet himself, breathing delicate inspiring life into this beautiful story. I can't wait to share it with the hometown audience!’
‘Anchored by Andrew Scott's astounding performance, few films will leave a lasting imprint on audiences this year quite like Elsinore,’ says festival director Kristy Matheson. ‘We could not be prouder to open the [festival] with… a film that centres community, resistance and the triumph of art.’
The 70th BFI London Festival runs from October 7-18. Tickets go on sale to the general public from 10am on September 16 via the official festival website.
Elsinore will be in UK cinemas on January 29, 2027, and in US theaters from November 20 this year.
All the UK cinemas where you can watch The Odyssey in 70mm IMAX.