Kiss the Future Unclassified 15+ 133 mins
Produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, this film recounts how determined local musicians banded together with U2 to offer hope to Bosnians trapped in war-torn Sarajevo.
From 1992 to 1996, Sarajevo was subjected to routine shelling bombardments and sniper attacks. But despite the ever-present danger and threat of violence, the city’s art and music scenes carried on with force. Within bomb shelters and garages, disco nights sprung up, DIY punk gigs thrived and teenagers formed new bands. Then American journalist and aid worker Bill S. Carter ingeniously asked Bono to give an interview on Bosnian TV, which led to U2 arranging live satellite link-ups with Sarajevo residents. In the siege’s aftermath, the band put on a giant show in the bombed-out city for 45,000 fans – the largest gathering since the war began.
Co-written by Carter and director Nenad Cicin-Sain, Kiss the Future interweaves clips from the era with contemporary interviews – including with CNN reporter Christiane Amanpour and former US president Bill Clinton – culminating in footage of the historic 1997 concert. Suffused with anthemic music, this inspirational film is at once a trenchant vigil for a despicable, bloody chapter of Europe’s past and an examination of how the idealistic grandeur of rock music can offer a salve and a means of dissent.
“An unofficial, unlicensed look at the nightmare of Sarajevo and the way that rock music kept humanity and hope alive.” – The Guardian
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