London Film Festival opens with European premiere of Andrew Scott's Elsinore
The 70th BFI London Film Festival opened on Wednesday, 7 October 2026 with the European premiere of Elsinore, the first screening of the film in Europe, at the Royal Festival Hall, as reported by Variety.
The festival runs from 7 to 18 October. The opening-night gala puts a British story in the showcase slot that launches 12 days of premieres, talks and public screenings across the capital.
Scott leads the cast. Andrew Scott stars as Scottish actor Ian Charleson, best known as the Chariots of Fire star, in a biographical drama directed by Simon Stone from a script by Simon Beresford, according to Variety.
The film had its first premiere in Telluride before travelling to London for its European premiere. That festival-to-festival route is common for awards-season releases, which use early screenings to build attention before wider release.
The London programme will close with The Debut, directed by Jesse Eisenberg, the BFI announced in its full programme reveal, as noted by the BFI. Opening with a British biographical drama and closing with a film by an American actor-director gives the edition a transatlantic pair of bookends.
The festival’s Screen Talks programme, a series of on-stage conversations with actors and film-makers, will feature Scott alongside Ava DuVernay, Brad Bird, Cynthia Erivo, James Gray, Eisenberg, John Malkovich and Mahershala Ali, according to the BFI.
For audiences who missed opening night, there is still a chance to catch it. Elsinore has further festival screenings including 9 October at 15:00 at the Royal Festival Hall and 16 October at 12:30 at BFI Southbank, with tickets for the festival starting from £10, according to the BFI.
