European premiere of Simon Stone’s Elsinore to open 70th BFI London Film Festival

The European premiere of Simon Stone’s Elsinore, starring Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman, will open the 70th BFI London Film Festival at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on 7 October 2026. Members of the cast are expected to attend the Opening Night Gala, which will be accompanied by screenings around the UK.

Running from 7 to 18 October, this year’s festival will begin with a London-set true story inspired by the life of actor Ian Charleson. Elsinore follows Charleson as he faces formidable circumstances while preparing to deliver what would become a defining performance as Hamlet at the National Theatre.

The setting of the European premiere adds particular resonance to the occasion: the Royal Festival Hall stands a short distance from the National Theatre, where Charleson concluded his career with his acclaimed interpretation of Shakespeare’s Danish prince.

BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Simon Stone, whose credits include The Dig, directs from a screenplay by BAFTA winner and Golden Globe nominee Stephen Beresford, the writer of Pride. Andrew Scott leads the cast and also serves as a producer on the film. He is joined by Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy winner and BFI Fellow Olivia Colman.

The ensemble also includes Billie Piper, who reunites with Stone following her Olivier Award-winning performance in Yerma at the Young Vic, alongside Johnny Flynn, Luke Thompson, David Dawson, Monica Dolan, Matthew Beard, Joe Locke, Georgie Glen, Sadie Soverall, Adeel Akhtar, Dickie Beau and Kadiff Kirwan, with Juliet Stevenson 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. 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,”

said Simon Stone, Director of Elsinore.

“Anchored by Andrew Scott’s astounding central performance, few films will leave a lasting imprint on audiences this year quite like Elsinore. Stephen Beresford’s script offers a richly drawn world from which director Simon Stone and his exceptional ensemble of some of the UK’s greatest talents vividly bring the story of renowned actor Ian Charleson to the screen. We could not be prouder to open the 70th edition of the BFI London Film Festival with Elsinore, a film that centres community, resistance and the triumph of art,”

said Kristy Matheson, BFI London Film Festival Artistic Director.

The film is produced by Andrea Occhipinti of Lucky Red and Gabrielle Tana of Magnolia Mae Films, together with Pete Shilaimon and Mickey Liddell of LD Entertainment, Stefano Massenzi and Carolyn Marks Blackwood. It is a STUDIOCANAL, LD Entertainment, Lucky Red and Magnolia Mae Films production.

STUDIOCANAL will release Elsinore in cinemas across the UK on 29 January 2027. Focus Features has acquired the film for the United States, where it is scheduled to open in selected cinemas on 20 November 2026.

The festival’s gala programme will return to the Royal Festival Hall, while BFI Southbank will host the competition programme, Screen Talks and LFF for Free events. Further screenings will take place at BFI IMAX and four West End partner cinemas: Curzon Soho, the Institute of Contemporary Arts, Prince Charles Cinema and Vue West End.

The festival will also extend beyond London through ten venues across the UK: Broadway Cinema in Nottingham, Chapter in Cardiff, Glasgow Film Theatre, HOME in Manchester, MAC in Birmingham, Queen’s Film Theatre in Belfast, Showroom Cinema in Sheffield, Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle, Filmhouse in Edinburgh and Watershed in Bristol. Press and industry screenings, together with the LFF Industry Forum, will be held at Picturehouse Central.

A special BFI Player collection will give audiences additional access to films from past and present festival programmes. The complete programme for the 70th BFI London Film Festival will be announced on 2 September, followed by the general ticket sale on 17 September, with earlier booking available to BFI Members.