By Hannah Rantala
LONDON (AP) — Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen kicked off the London Film Festival on Wednesday with his gripping World War II drama “Blitz.”
“Where we are standing right now, bombs were dropped,” the “12 Years a Slave” and “Hunger” filmmaker said on the red carpet at the capital’s Royal Festival Hall. “So, to show a film about London in the 1940s, 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 Elliot Heffernan, to safety in the countryside during the war. But George is determined to return home despite the many dangers that lie ahead.
Like his character, Heffernan, whose previous acting experience included the role of “Aladdin” in a school play, embarked on a transformational journey with the film.
The 11-year-old said, “It was a huge adventure, for a kid playing in school, to be on the red carpet and know how a movie works. I feel like I’ve come a long way ” He further said that he had not told his friends about his becoming a star.
He said, “Maybe they find out, maybe they don’t know. Maybe I don’t tell them. I mean, I want to keep it casual.”
The intense aerial bombardment of the United Kingdom by the German Luftwaffe from September 1940 to May 1941, dubbed “The Blitz” by locals, was officially called Blitzkrieg or “Lightning War”. It saw Londoners hiding together in underground shelters, fighting fires caused by the bombings and rescuing people from the debris of their homes.
Ronan said, “It’s about the community coming together against all odds and honoring the part of our humanity that needs to find lightness and levity, no matter how bad the world around us is. ”
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 screened at the 68th edition of the London Film Festival.
“Blitz” will be released in select theaters on November 1 and will stream on Apple TV starting November 22.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
