The 68th BFI London Film Festival (9 to 20 October) in partnership with American Express is excited to announce that this year’s opening night gala will be the world premiere of the Apple Original Film, Blitz, directed, produced and written by Academy Award and BAFTA winner Steve McQueen.
Blitz 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. 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.
The film stars Academy and BAFTA Award-nominee 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 world premiere of Blitz marks a return to the LFF by the London-born director, who has opened the festival twice before with Widows in 2018 and Mangrove in 2020, and has a long-standing relationship with the LFF, also premiering Hunger, 12 Years a Slave, Shame, Lovers Rock and Occupied City at the festival. McQueen was awarded the BFI’s highest honour, the BFI Fellowship, at the BFI London Film Festival in 2016 for his outstanding contribution to film and moving image culture.
Blitz is a tale of resilience and humanity in the face of adversity, with the city of London forming the tapestry of the film. The 68th BFI London Film Festival opening marks a homecoming for the film and its director and is a true celebration of British excellence in cinema.
McQueen reunites with production designer Adam Stockhausen (12 Years a Slave, Widows), costume designer Jacqueline Durran (Small Axe) and composer Hans Zimmer (12 Years a Slave), with cinematographer Yorick Le Saux (Little Women) and makeup designer Naomi Donne (No Time to Die).
