[Source: BBC]

Actress Saoirse Ronan has said shooting her new World War Two film felt “incredibly relevant” against the backdrop of conflict around the world.

Blitz, directed by Sir Steve McQueen, was mostly filmed in early 2023, about a year after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The film launched this year’s London Film Festival on Wednesday evening and saw Ronan join her co-stars including Stephen Graham, Paul Weller and Benjamin Clementine on the red carpet at the Royal Festival Hall.

Blitz is one of the few contenders for next year’s film awards season not to have already been screened at an earlier festival – leaving pundits unable to rate its Oscars chances until now.

But Sir Steve wanted the film to receive its world premiere in London because it tells a uniquely British story.

Blitz follows a working-class London family as the British capital is bombed during World War Two.

The story is told through the eyes of George, a nine-year-old mixed-race boy played by newcomer Elliott Heffernan, who is one of about a million children sent away from the big cities during the Blitz to live in the countryside for their safety.

George, however, adamantly does not want to leave his mother and grandfather in London and jumps from the train during its journey away from the city to pursue his adventure.

His mother, played by Ronan, is sick with worry as she waits for updates from the authorities who are trying to find him.

Sir Steve is best known for directing Widows, Shame and 12 Years A Slave, which won the Oscar for best picture in 2014.

Speaking on Wednesday about his stimulus for the new film, the director said he had come across a photo that intrigued him while working on his 2020 TV series Small Axe.