“An unofficial, unlicensed look at the nightmare of Sarajevo and the way that rock music kept humanity and hope alive.” – The Guardian

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 sprang 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.

Find out more here at the MIFF website.

Subscribers enter the competition below to go in the draw for a double pass to the screening of Kiss the Future, 9pm Thursday 17 August at the Hoyts Melbourne Central.

Winners will be contacted via email no later than Tuesday 15 August.