Steve McQueen's Blitz, starring Saoirse Ronan and Elliott Heffernan, will be the closing selection of the 62nd New York Film Festival, marking its North American premiere, according to Film At Lincoln Center, the festival's parent company.

The re-creation of London during the German blitzkrieg of World War II is told from the parallel perspectives of single working-class mother Rita (Ronan) and her 9-year-old son George (newcomer Heffernan), who are separated in the labyrinth of a besieged city. Oscar winner McQueen (12 Years a Slave), who also wrote and produced, offers an unusually multicultural portrait of London in the 1940s. Supporting roles are Kathy Burke, Benjamin Clémentine, Harris Dickinson, Stephen Graham, Hayley Squires and Paul Weller.

"It is with immense pride, gratitude and affection that I am able to return to the New York Film Festival with Blitz," said McQueen. "I have been fortunate to have some memorable experiences at the festival and with New York audiences, and I am extremely grateful to have been invited to Closing Night."

NYFF Artistic Director Dennis Lim called the film "a vivid and visceral depiction of life during wartime, an accurate historical account that resonates unmistakably with our current time of endless war. We are thrilled to welcome Steve McQueen, one of the most daring artists working today, with one of the greatest achievements of his career, back to the festival."