Elsinore, starring Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman, opens 70th BFI London Film Festival

Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman's Elsinore opened the 70th BFI London Film Festival on 7 October at London's Royal Festival Hall.

The opening-night gala put the biographical drama first on the festival programme. Scott walked the carpet with Colman and co-stars Billie Piper, Johnny Flynn, Luke Thompson, Peter Mullan and Joe Locke, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Elsinore is based on the life of Scottish actor Ian Charleson. It follows his final weeks playing Hamlet at London's National Theatre before his death from AIDS.

Colman plays Professor Margaret Johnson, a pioneer of HIV and AIDS treatment in the late 1980s. The film was directed by Simon Stone and written by Stephen Beresford.

Scott leads the cast as Charleson. He is also a producer on the film.

The wider ensemble includes Monica Dolan, Juliet Stevenson, Adeel Akhtar, Matthew Beard, David Dawson, Kadiff Kirwan and Dickie Beau. That full company list was confirmed for the opening screening.

The London slot was billed as a European premiere by the BFI. The 70th anniversary edition of the festival runs 7-18 October, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The festival programme also gave Scott a Screen Talk to discuss his work across stage and screen. The session was listed under the Opening Night Gala film.

Release dates are already set on both sides of the Atlantic. The film opens in the United States on 20 November and in the United Kingdom on 29 January, according to The Guardian.

For audiences following the festival, this means Elsinore moves from gala launch into awards-season release. Scott has already discussed the film on The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast.