Steve McQueen’s ‘Blitz’ To Open London Film Festival As World Premiere 

Steve McQueen will debut his latest feature Blitz, an exploration of London during World War 2, on opening night at this year’s London Film Festival. The pic will screen as a world premiere. 

Directed, produced, and written by McQueen, the film follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside. The Synopsis reads: George, defiant and determined to return home to Rita and his grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, ensues on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril, while a distraught Rita searches for her missing son. Blitz marks McQueen’s first sole feature screenwriting credit. 

The film stars  Saoirse Ronan and newcomer Elliott Heffernan, with Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, Kathy Burke, Paul Weller, Stephen Graham, Leigh Gill, Mica Ricketts, CJ Beckford, Alex Jennings, Joshua McGuire, Hayley Squires, Erin Kellyman, and Sally Messham rounding out the cast.  

McQueen’s Lammas Park produces alongside Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title Films, Arnon Milchan, Yariv Milchan, and Michael Schaefer for New Regency, with producers Anita Overland and Adam Somner. 

The premiere will take place Wednesday 9 October at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall with simultaneous screenings across the UK. The evening will mark McQueen’s return to the LFF opening night. He has previously opened the festival twice before with Widows in 2018 and Mangrove in 2020. 

“Blitz is a movie about Londoners. It honors the spirit of what and how Londoners endured during the blitz, but also explores the true representation of people in London, while at its core is the story of a working-class family desperate to be reunited during times of war,” McQueen said this afternoon. “I could not be more thrilled that the BFI London Film Festival has invited us to open this year’s festival, and to celebrate the World Premiere of Blitz in my hometown.” 

Kristy Matheson, BFI London Film Festival Director, added: “Blitz is a film of incredible scale. Steve McQueen infuses the film with nuance at every turn; the depth of character and texture of the city are all peerless and make this subject feel completely new. It’s an astounding production that will leave audiences in awe of the Director, his cast, and creative collaborators. We are honored to share this film with audiences in London and across the UK and can think of no better way to open the 2024 BFI London Film Festival.” 

Blitz will premiere in select cinemas on November 1 before streaming globally on Apple TV+ on November 22.

The London Film Festival will run from October 9 to October 20.