The 29th edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival will open with the feature doc Kiss The Future directed by Nenad Čičin-Šain (The Time Being) and written by Čičin-Šain and Bill Carter (Miss Sarajevo).
Kiss The Future chronicles the struggle of the citizens of Sarajevo during the city’s siege during the Bosnian War, and the post-war concert in which U2 performed in front of more than 45,000 fans in the newly liberated city. “This concert is still a collective memory for the people of Sarajevo, as proof that they not only survived the siege, but also that in the midst of the horrors produced by the darkest impulses, music and art can be acts of rebellion and resistance,” the filmmakers note.
The film features U2’s Bono, The Edge and Adam Clayton, as well as Bill Clinton, Christiane Amanpour, Mirsad Purivatra, Vesna Andree Zaimović, Senad Zaimović, Enes Zlatar, Alma Catal Hurem, Boris Šiber and Srđan Gino Jevđević.
Kiss The Future was produced by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck for Pearl Street Films and Sarah Anthony for Good Wolves Productions. The film is executive-produced by Drew Vinton, Madison Ainsley, Alan Moloney, Jennifer Pitcher, Nenad Čičin-Šain, and Bill S. Carter. FIFTH SEASON financed the film and advised the filmmaking team. North American sales were handled by FIFTH SEASON and WME, while FIFTH SEASON television distribution is handling rest of world. Kiss The Future is a FIFTH SEASON, Pearl Street Films, and an In Cahoots Production.
Comments director said director Nenad Čičin-Šain: “On 23rd September 1997, U2 performed to 45,000 fans at Koševo Stadium, with support acts including Bosnian groups Gazi Husrev-beg choir, Protest and Sikter. Held around two years after the siege ended, it was a moment to show that this city had not been beaten. Once again, people were standing and living side by side. One people singing with one voice.”
Producer Matt Damon adds: “It’s about how it’s an act of protest, an act of resistance to make art. And that’s what it is to be alive. The idea that these people were risking their lives to go play music together, and that people were risking their lives to come hear them play and maintain that sense of community. It’s really, really powerful stuff.”
Kiss The Future will be screened as part of the Open Air programme. This documentary premiered as a Special Gala presentation at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2023.
