Working with Andrew Scott was a “dream come true”, Elsinore director Simon Stone has said.

Scott, 49, is tipped for an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Chariots Of Fire star Ian Charleson as he took on his final stage performance after being diagnosed with Aids.

The film, which premiered during the opening night of the BFI London Film Festival on Wednesday, follows Scotsman Charleson as he prepares to perform the title role in Shakespeare’s Hamlet at the National Theatre in 1989 while facing his own mortality.

Speaking on the red carpet, Stone told the Press Association: “The London theatre and film community were the people who this film’s about.

“To be able to share it with the London film and theatre community, a lot of whom are portrayed in this story or know people who are portrayed in this story, it’s a kind of a meta moment.

“It’s a huge celebration of why the arts are so integral to our community and our country and I feel so honoured that that statement is being headlined on the first night of the festival.

“I think the gay community… being able to celebrate one of its icons, and a warrior for the truth and a warrior for honesty on stage.”

Stone added: “Ian Charleson spent his dying weeks sharing his insights into mortality, life, death, loss on stage in Hamlet, and he poured his lifeblood into giving that gift to an audience, and it’s incredible that we can celebrate his life and the wider gay community tonight as well.”

The film stars Olivia Colman as Charleson’s physician, Dr Margaret Johnson, while Billie Piper portrays casting director Patsy Pollock.

Johnny Flynn is Richard Eyre, the director of the National Theatre at the time, with Juliet Stevenson playing the actress Sylvia Syms, who starred as Gertrude in that production of Hamlet.

Stone, who directed The Dig and The Woman In Cabin 10, said it was “incredible” to direct Scott and Colman in the same movie, adding it was like “all my Christmases have come at once”.

He said each of the cast was “like the best possible person you could ever have imagined casting in that role”.

“It’s a testament to Stephen Beresford’s script,” he added.

“Everyone read it and just went, ‘I have to be in this’, and they wanted to be working with Andrew, and so it kind of was a dream come true.”

Elsinore will be in UK cinemas from January 29.