The world premiere of Saoirse Ronan's new film, the Steve McQueen-directed Blitz, is to open the 68th BFI London Film Festival in October.
Blitz will be shown on 9 October, almost a month before its release in cinemas on 1 November.
The film follows the journey of George, played by newcomer Elliott Heffernan, a nine-year-old boy in Second World War London, whose mother Rita, played by Ronan, sends him to safety in the English countryside.
But George is determined to return home to Rita and his grandfather Gerald, played by Paul Weller, and attempts to get back to them.
It will be the third time a film by McQueen has opened the festival. Widows opened in 2018 and Mangrove in 2020.
Blitz also stars Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clémentine, Kathy Burke, Stephen Graham, Hayley Squires, and Erin Kellyman.
McQueen, who also wrote and produced the film, said: "Blitz is a movie about Londoners.
"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.
"I could not be more thrilled that the BFI London Film Festival have invited us to open this year's festival, and to celebrate the world premiere of Blitz in my hometown."
McQueen is best known for his work directing 12 Years a Slave and the film anthology Small Axe.
Most recently, he directed and produced a four-and-a-half-hour-long documentary, Occupied City, about the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam.
Kristy Matheson, BFI London Film Festival director, said: "Blitz is a film of incredible scale.
"Steve McQueen infuses the film with nuance at every turn; the depth of character and texture of the city are all peerless and make this subject feel completely new.
"It's an astounding production that will leave audiences in awe of the director, his cast, and creative collaborators."
After its theatrical release on 1 November, Blitz will then be streamed globally on Apple TV+ from 22 November.
Ronan will next be seen in cinemas in The Outrun. It opens on 27 September.
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Source: Press Association
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