NY Film Festival Sets Steve McQueen’s ‘Blitz’ as Closing Night Selection

The 2024 New York Film Festival has set Steve McQueen’s Blitz , starring Saoirse Ronan and Elliot Heffernan, as its closing night film.

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The movie, set in London during the blitzkrieg by the Germans during World War II, will receive its North American premiere on Oct. 10 at Alice Tully Hall.

McQueen wrote, directed and produced Blitz , which is told from the parallel perspectives of working-class single mother Rita (Ronan) and her 9-year-old son George (Heffernan) as they become separated in the city under siege.

The film also stars Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, Kathy Burke, Paul Weller, Stephen Graham, Leigh Gill, Mica Ricketts, CJ Beckford, Alex Jennings, Joshua McGuire, Hayley Squires, Erin Kellyman and Sally Messham. In addition to McQueen, who produces through his Lammas Park banner, producers include Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, New Regency’s Arnon and Yariv Milchan and Michael Schaefer as well as Anita Overland and Adam Somner. The Apple film will hit theaters on Nov. 1 ahead of its release on Apple TV+ on Nov. 22.

“It is with immense pride, gratitude, and fondness that I’m able to return to the New York Film Festival with Blitz ,” said McQueen. “I’ve been lucky enough to have enjoyed a number of memorable experiences at the festival and with New York audiences, and I’m enormously grateful to have been invited back for closing night.”

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NYFF artistic director Dennis Lim adds, “ Blitz is a vivid and visceral depiction of life during wartime, a meticulous historical account that resonates unmistakably with our current age of endless war. We are thrilled to welcome back to the festival Steve McQueen, one of the most daring artists at work today, with one of the greatest achievements of his career.”

McQueen has had a number of his films play at the festival including his debut feature Hunger, Shame, 12 Years a Slave, Occupied City and three of the five works in his Small Axe anthology.

The 62nd New York Film Festival, presented by Film at Lincoln Center, is set to run from Sept. 27 to Oct. 14.

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