The 68th BFI London Film Festival will open with the world premiere of Steve McQueen’s Blitz on October 9.
The Second World War drama is an Apple Original feature starring Saoirse Ronan, Harris Dickinson, Paul Weller, Kathy Burke, Stephen Graham, Benjamin Clementine and newcomer Elliott Heffernan.
This is the third time McQueen has opened LFF, following Widows in 2018 and Mangrove in 2020. The UK director also received the BFI Fellowship at the 2016 edition of the festival.
“Blitz is a movie about Londoners,” said McQueen. ”It honours 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”.
Blitz follows a nine-year-old boy determined to reunite with his mother (Ronan) and grandfather (Weller) after being sent away to the countryside. It is produced by McQueen’s Lammas Park alongside Working Title Films and New Regency with producers Anita Overland and Adam Somner. Further cast include Leigh Gill, 2024 Screen Star Of Tomorrow Mica Ricketts, CJ Beckford, Alex Jennings, Joshua McGuire, Hayley Squires, Erin Kellyman, and Sally Messham rounding out the cast.
The film will have a limited theatrical release on November 1 prior to streaming on Apple TV+.
Venues
This year’s festival is the second edition under BFI festivals director Kristy Matheson.
It is returning to all its regular venues including Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall for gala events, BFI Southbank, BFI Imax and its five partner cinemas in London’s West End - Curzon Mayfair, Curzon Soho, Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), Prince Charles Cinema and Vue West End .
Further venues across the UK include Broadway Cinema in Nottingham, Chapter in Cardiff, Glasgow Film Theatre, HOME in Manchester, MAC in Birmingham, Queen’s Film Theatre in Belfast, Showroom Cinema in Sheffield, Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle and Watershed in Bristol . Press and industry screenings will occur at London’s Picturehouse Central.
The full programme will be unveiled on September 4.
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