Keira Knightley's film 'The Aftermath' promotes unity in divided times

Keira Knightley said on February 18 that her new postwar film had important lessons of unity that were "very relevant" for today's divided societies.

Knightley said romantic drama 'The Aftermath', set in destroyed Hamburg just after the end of the Second World War, was about divided nations coming together and setting aside prejudices - lessons she said were needed "right now".

"It's very relevant for now. It's about building bridges, it's about how we see each other as human beings and we don't demonise each other and that's obviously something that we need to do right now," Knightley said at the film's world premiere in London.

Knightley plays Rachael Morgan, who moves to Germany to be with her husband, a British colonel who has a leading role in the reconstruction effort in Hamburg. They move in with a German widower and his troubled daughter.

Her co-stars, Australian Jason Clarke and Swedish Alexander Skarsgard, both attended the world premiere at London's Picturehouse Central.

Knightley added that she hoped fellow Brit Olivia Colman would win an Oscar at the awards ceremony on February 24.

'The Aftermath' opens in cinemas in Britain on March 1, and in the USA on March 15.