Director Steve McQueen's 'Blitz' opens 2024 London Film Festival

Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen kicked off the London Film Festival yesterday with his gripping World War Two drama "Blitz".

"Where we're standing right now, bombs were dropped," the "12 Years a Slave" and "Hunger" filmmaker said on the red carpet at the Royal Festival Hall. "So, to be in London showing a movie about London in 1940, I mean, where else can I show this picture?"

"Blitz" stars Saoirse Ronan as Rita, a London mother who sends her young son George, played by newcomer Elliott Heffernan, to safety in the countryside during the war. But George is determined to return home despite the many dangers ahead.

Like his character, Heffernan, whose previous acting experience consisted of playing "Aladdin" in a school play, embarked on a transformative journey with the movie.

"It was a massive adventure, just for one kid who did a school play to being on the red carpet and knowing exactly how a film works. I think I've come a very long way," the 11-year-old said.

Dubbed "the Blitz" by the locals, the intense aerial bombing of the United Kingdom from September 1940 to May 1941 by the German Luftwaffe was officially called Blitzkrieg, or "Lightning War". It saw Londoners huddling together in underground shelters, battling blazes caused by the bombings and rescuing people from the rubble of their homes.

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"It (the film) is about the community coming together against all odds and kind of honouring that part of our humanity that needs to find lightness and levity no matter how bad the world is around us," Ronan said.

Written and directed by McQueen, "Blitz" also stars Harris Dickinson, Paul Weller, Stephen Graham, and Benjamin Clementine.

It is one of 255 titles from 80 countries screening at the 68th edition of the London Film Festival.

"Blitz" is set to be out in select cinemas on November 1 and will stream on Apple TV+ from November 22.