Film fanatics arrived from the US, Switzerland and Ireland for the midnight premiere of Christopher Nolan's critically acclaimed epic. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.

Odysseus made his name by embarking on a perilous journey from Troy to Ithaca, but this is nothing on Christian Campbell, who travelled more than 4,000 miles from Atlanta to London to see Nolan's take on Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey.

The 22-year-old film graduate bought his ticket a year in advance. "I had originally planned on going to New York, but when the tickets dropped, they sold out immediately," he says. He was also out of luck nabbing a ticket in Georgia. "I was like, the third best option is London." Not only is it his first time in the British capital, it is the first time Campbell has left the US.

BFI Imax, near Waterloo Bridge, is one of the few cinemas in the world that will show The Odyssey in Imax 1570, the highest-resolution film format in existence and the first feature film to be shot entirely on 1570 cameras. Each camera weighs 180kg and Nolan worked with Imax to develop a soundproofing "blimp" to record dialogue. The film's budget was $250m, and box office predictions suggest it could record $80m-$100m on its first weekend in North America alone.

Campbell was eight when he watched his first Nolan film, The Dark Knight. "My uncle played it for me and he would skip the bad parts," he says. He has watched every other film by the director and had the same response: "Dang, that was awesome."

Marco Garbely travelled from Switzerland with two friends, landing in London hours before the screening, wearing shirts commemorating their favourite director. The 30-year-old healthcare worker was nervous before the review embargo broke, but his fears were allayed when the film debuted with a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. He was also concerned that far-right criticism about Lupita Nyong'o's casting as Helen could affect the reception. "It's quite forced. It's a myth which was invented 1,000 years ago. We don't have proof of how Helen existed or what she should looked like," he says.

Julian Jäger, 30, who works in finance, says Nolan had "quite an impact on our childhood and how we understand cinema". He recalls watching Inception in the cinema aged 15, which remains his favourite Nolan film. While Garbely considers Oppenheimer to be Nolan's "best work", he hopes "it could be surpassed tonight". The trio have tickets to watch the film two nights in a row.

Rachana Mettem visited BFI Imax as a "pit stop" between landing in London from Ireland and embarking on a trip to Edinburgh. She also bought her tickets a year in advance. The 26-year-old student wonders why Himesh Patel, who plays a pivotal role in The Odyssey, has not had a more prominent part in the press tour. "I feel like Hollywood has showcased white actors and made them the centre point rather than people of colour who have distinct roles within the film," she says.

Walee Ahmed, a 26-year-old data analyst, opted to wear a helmet to get the true Odyssey experience. He says Nolan is "probably one of the greatest directors out there". He has seen Oppenheimer nine times. "As a cinematic experience, it's top notch and the soundtrack is one of my favourites. I listen to it every other day," he says. He managed to see Nolan in person when he received the BFI fellowship. His friend, Forhad Alom, a 29-year-old civil servant, would also love to experience that. "I'm not much of a cinephile but when it comes Nolan, I don't play around," he says. "That's my Goat. I would be starstruck."