Steve McQueen enjoyed the unusual coincidence of celebrating both the world premiere of his latest film and his birthday on Wednesday night.
“Blitz” — McQueen’s WWII drama starring Saoirse Ronan and young newcomer Elliot Heffernan and set during Nazi Germany’s intense bombing campaign of the U.K. between 1940 and 1941 — opened the BFI London Film Festival, the second time McQueen has done so after his 2018 crime thriller “Widows.” As the credits rolled on the emotional mother-son story, the audience gave a round of applause, particularly for Heffernan, while several were seen wiping tears from their eyes.
Speaking on stage at Royal Festival Hall, the filmmaker reflected on the sobering message of the film and gave a shout out to another creative who shares the same birthday.
“I share a birthday with one of the greatest British artists that ever lived, John Lennon,” he said. “And right now I can only think of the song ‘Imagine,’ and that’s all we have. We have this possibility. It’s in our hands. It’s possible. So I just want to say thank you to John for that song on your birthday.”
Ronan, meanwhile, discussed working with Heffernan and recalled how she had began her her acting career at a similar age. “I think, for me, the people that I remember the most from those early years were the ones who gave me time, and were fun and were patient with me, not that I ever needed to be with Elliot,” she said. “He’s probably a lot more mature than I was!”
For Hefferman, who hadn’t acted before “Blitz,” one of the most memorable elements of the “Blitz” production were the craft services, “where people make yummy food and you can have as much as you like.”
The Apple Original film stars Oscar nominee Ronan as Rita, a distraught mother who frantically searches for her son George (Heffernan) after sending him away from London to the countryside during the Blitz. The cast also includes Harris Dickinson, Erin Kellyman, Stephen Graham, Kathy Burke, Paul Weller, Leigh Gill and Benjamin Clementine.
McQueen wrote, directed and produced “Blitz,” which marks his first feature film since 2018’s “Widows.” The British filmmaker is best known for directing the 2014 film “12 Years a Slave,” which won the Academy Award for best picture and also earned him a directing nomination.
At a press conference earlier on Wednesday, Ronan reflected on the relevance of the movie amid escalating global conflict.
“The thing that made this so real as a filming experience is that you’d shoot certain scenes where there’s total chaos and pandemonium and we’re having to portray characters in abject fear and horror, and then you would leave set and you’d turn on the radio and you’d hear exactly the same thing, and you’d put on the news and you’d see exactly the same thing,” she said. “It was the first time I’d ever had an experience on a project where there wasn’t really an escape from it.”
“Blitz” will debut in select theaters on Nov. 1 before streaming globally on Apple TV+ on Nov. 22.