In the Parisian palace where the promotion of aerial bombardmentwe’re told that Steve McQueen only wants to talk about his movie; Understand, no political questions, please. Unnecessary caution, such as aerial bombardmentwhich follows a mixed-race boy in London gutted by Nazi bombing, is anything but apolitical. In this, it is in line with the work of the Briton who, at 55 years old, has not lost any of his abrasive force, straddling contemporary art, television and cinema.
In France, in addition to some cinematic trailers, “Blitz” premieres directly on Apple TV+. Is this setup right for you?
No. France is right to defend the collective experience of the room. What’s the point of riding a roller coaster if there’s no one to shout “Ooh!” » and “Ah! “With you? Not to mention the quality of the image, which is otherwise superior in theaters… But let’s be clear: I am happy that Apple financed and distributed my film, and I have been even more so since then, in the United States United States and United Kingdom. -United, was able to premiere in theaters, a few weeks before being online.
Since when did you want to film the war?
In 2003 I traveled to Iraq for ten days. It is a strange British tradition, dating back to the Crimean War (1853-1856): an artist is sent to the front, with the troops. Most people only perceive war through the prism of the media, but it is still very abstract. Observing the “theater of operations” up close, as it is called, moved me. A camaraderie united all these soldiers from Liverpool, Leeds or Birmingham, like a football team. Among them I felt a rather perverse form of nationalism. I promised myself I would share this experience. aerial bombardment It gives me the opportunity.
What was the starting point?
During my research for the miniseries. small ax (2020), I came across a photograph of a small black boy, with a suitcase and a cap, in a train station, about to be evacuated. Whatever his fate, he was clearly in danger. That put me on the trail of the movie: who were his parents? How was your life? I reached out to historians, like Joshua Levine. [auteur de The Secret History of Blitz, Simon & Schuster, 2016, non traduit]to understand what London was like at that time.
You make the protagonists of “Blitz” the “forgotten” of official history: women, children, blacks, the elderly… Why?
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