The Motion Picture Academy has rejected a plea for documentary ‘Kiss The Future’ from producers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, to reconsider the decision to deem the doc ineligible for Academy Award consideration.

The doc explores the 1990s siege of Sarajevo and how an American aid worker was inspired to reach out to the world's biggest band at the time, U2, to help raise awareness of the devastating conflict.

U2 promised to perform a post-war concert and on 23 September 1997, the band performed at Koševo Stadium in Sarajevo, with Approximately 45,000 fans attended the show in the liberated city.

The documentary played in more than 130 AMC cinemas nationwide (US), dwarfing the typical theatrical distribution of many documentaries.

The Academy judged the film after two screenings on the same day, instead of the standard three times by Academy regulations.

The film first premiered in competition at Berlinale in February 2023 and selected as the opening film for the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2023. It also showed at the Sarajevo Film Festival in August 2023, where it received the Audience Award.

According to Deadline, an August 20 plea-letter from producers Damon, Affleck, and Sarah Anthony asked the Academy for re-consideration, to which the Academy wrote back to Anthony stating; “The Documentary Branch Executive Committee has reviewed the appeal for KISS THE FUTURE. We regret to inform you that the appeal has been denied, and the film was deemed ineligible. While we know this news is disappointing, we assure you that the situation was thoroughly discussed and evaluated. These difficult decisions are not taken lightly by the Committee, but the process is necessary to be fair and consistent with all entries.”

Anthony said this was a “passion project for everyone involved and they tried to live up to the spirit of the Academy with a wide theatrical release.”

According to the producer, the film had to screen 21 times theatrically in order to qualify, and Anthony says their film screened “hundreds of times.”

She continued: “One theater that played the requisite number of screenings was less than 30 miles outside the qualifying area. It is shocking to be rejected for a programming error, and I would hate to see this happen to any other filmmakers.”

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‘Kiss The Future’ director Nenad Cicin-Sain touched on the Academy’s response: “What they’re doing is they’re enforcing the letter of the rule and not the spirit of the rule. And if the spirit of the rule is to put movies in theaters — and that’s what we did by exhibiting it in as many theaters possible, and pulling out of the awards when it was just one theater [in favor of] putting it in in 139 theaters — and then you’re not qualifying, something’s wrong.”

The documentary branch executive committee dismissed another plea from Damon, Affleck, and Anthony to do another qualifying run in September 2024. The offer was rejected because the doc premiered on Paramount+ in May 2024, meaning under Academy guidelines it is considered to have debuted on streaming before completed a qualifying theatrical release.

Natalie Wade, the Academy’s Senior Director, Member Relations and Awards Administration, wrote to film’s director, stating; “We completely understand your frustration and that this was an honest mistake,” apparently referring to AMC’s programming of Kiss the Future twice a day instead of three times a day in a qualifying market. Wade added, “The film was not ‘under appeal’ – it is not eligible because it did not meet the showtime requirements as outlined in the rules.”

“With the war in Ukraine already having lasted two years, and with everything that’s happening in Gaza this film could not be more timely as a cautionary tale against the rise of nationalism, an appeal for peace, and a celebration of the best of the human spirit when faced with adversity. We hope you will allow us the opportunity to attempt to draw more attention to the subject matter,” wrote Damon, Affleck, and Anthony in the August 20 letter of appeal.

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