'Elsinore' producer Andrea Occhipinti reveals he lost many friends during AIDS crisis

Occhipinti also recalled that his business partner Kermit Smith was HIV positive when they founded Lucky Red in 1987

Elsinore producer Andrea Occhipinti has revealed that he lost many friends during the AIDS crisis, explaining why Ian Charleson’s story has held such personal significance for him while discussing his 20-year journey to bring the film to the screen.

The Italian producer spoke to Variety following the London Film Festival premiere of Elsinore, which received a standing ovation. The film stars Andrew Scott as Scottish actor Ian Charleson, who was living with AIDS when he took on the role of Hamlet at London’s National Theatre in 1989. Charleson died in 1990 at the age of 40.

Occhipinti first met Charleson in 1984 while working on The Sun Also Rises. He encountered him again in Rome three years later, when Charleson was filming Dario Argento’s Opera. Occhipinti said Charleson, whom he remembered as funny and lively during their first meeting, seemed completely different when they met again and appeared depressed.

Charleson later introduced Occhipinti to his friend Ethan Silverman. After Charleson’s death, Silverman told Occhipinti about the actor’s determination to play Hamlet despite his illness. That conversation eventually convinced Occhipinti that there was a film to be made about Charleson’s final months.

“I lost a lot of friends,” Occhipinti said of the AIDS crisis, recalling that his American business partner Kermit Smith was HIV positive when they co-founded Lucky Red in 1987. Smith died in 2001. “That’s why this story is so important to me,” Occhipinti added.

Occhipinti first raised the possibility of making the film with Silverman in 2005. Fifteen years later, the project began moving forward, with Andrew Scott attached to play Charleson. Scott’s own experience playing Hamlet and his background in both theatre and film made him a natural choice for the role.

The project eventually brought together writer Stephen Beresford and director Simon Stone, with Studiocanal financing the film. For Occhipinti, the long process was ultimately about more than Charleson himself. He described Elsinore as a story about community and the theatre world that protected Charleson while he was seriously ill.

The film portrays Charleson preparing for Hamlet as his health deteriorates, highlighting his determination to continue working despite his AIDS diagnosis. Scott has said the story should also confront the stigma surrounding the crisis rather than place shame on those living with HIV and AIDS.

Olivia Colman co-stars as Dr Margaret Johnson, a doctor who cared for people living with AIDS during the crisis. The film also emphasises the role played by doctors, nurses, friends and families who supported people facing an illness that was surrounded by fear and prejudice.

Elsinore opened the 2026 London Film Festival and is scheduled to receive a US theatrical release through Focus Features on November 20. Studiocanal will release the film in the UK and Ireland on January 29, 2027.