Tears, Then Disco: How 'Elsinore' Kicked Off the 70th London Film Festival

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Tears, Then Disco: How 'Elsinore' Kicked Off the 70th London Film Festival.

Tears, Then Disco: How 'Elsinore' Kicked Off the 70th London Film Festival.

Wednesday evening, Royal Festival Hall, London. The lights go down, 'Elsinore' begins – and by the end, not a tissue in the house stays dry. According to Variety, large parts of the audience had to swallow hard at the end. Then Andrew Scott stepped onto the stage, and the entire hall shifted from sniffling to a standing ovation.

That's how the 70th BFI London Film Festival opened its doors – with a film that, according to Deadline, is already being talked about as a "buzzy awards season frontrunner." For you, that means: anyone talking about the Oscars, Golden Globes, and the like over the coming months will hardly be able to get past 'Elsinore.' And anyone who knows Andrew Scott mainly from 'Fleabag' should brace themselves for a very different tone.

Because 'Elsinore' is clearly no light entertainment. Director Simon Stone, who traveled to the premiere with his cast according to Deadline, delivers exactly the kind of film that makes critics swoon and audiences cry.

Who's behind 'Elsinore'?

The director is Simon Stone, an Australian theater maker who is increasingly making waves on the big screen as well. For 'Elsinore,' he has assembled an ensemble that could hardly be more prominent on the British film scene: alongside Andrew Scott in the lead role are Olivia Colman, Billie Piper, and Johnny Flynn. The wider cast also includes Luke Thompson, David Dawson, and Monica Dolan, according to Deadline.

The fact that this very lineup appeared together on stage at the European premiere is no coincidence: 'Elsinore' apparently tells a story that wouldn't work without this caliber of actors – otherwise Stone would hardly have gathered them all on the same evening.

London as a Homecoming – and an Unusual Disco Album

For Stone and his team, the London premiere is a homecoming, according to Deadline: the screening is described as a "passionate homecoming screening." Here is a film coming home – whether due to filming locations, production partners, or simply the British ensemble.

And then there's the detail from the Variety headline that gives pause: "The Ethel Merman Disco Album." What exactly that refers to isn't entirely clear from the available reports – it sounds like a musical moment in the evening's program that brought an unexpected shift in mood amid all the drama. Precisely this break – first tears, then disco – seems to have defined the opening night.

What Does This Mean for Awards Season?

With 'Elsinore' as the opening film, the organizers have gone with a title that was already being talked up as an award winner beforehand. That's a classic signal: we open with the film everyone will be talking about for the next few months. Deadline calls it a "buzzy awards season frontrunner" – a film the industry already regards as a favorite before the official race begins.

For you as a film fan, that means: if you want to know where the 2026/27 awards season kicks off, you just got your answer – Wednesday evening, Royal Festival Hall, a bit of Ethel Merman, and a lot of tears.