The reality of World War Two is brought chillingly near in Blitz, also written by McQueen and inspired by his own time as a war artist in Iraq in 2004, through both its narrative and hugely evocative production design.

In a talk before opening the London fest, the Oscar winner spoke about love, the "deafening silence" on slavery before '12 Years a Slave' (and meeting Prince during that Oscar weekend): "If Obama was not the president,

Steve McQueen on his LFF-opening WWII drama 'Blitz,' discovering Saoirse Ronan could sing and casting musicians Paul Weller and Benjamin Clementine.

The British filmmaker behind ‘12 Years a Slave’ and ‘Shame’ has returned with a terrifying, expressionist masterpiece starring Saoirse Ronan and newcomer Elliott Heffernan

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.

Steve McQueen—a director who understands we can only look forward by looking back—gives us a new lens through which to examine WWII in this masterful film.