Event features world premieres & performances
The 2023 Tribeca Festival, presented by OKX, has announced its lineup of Gala events, along with Opening, Closing, and Centerpiece selections.
This year’s Festival kicks off on Wednesday, June 7th with the North American premiere of Kiss the Future, a stirring documentary that follows the story of a community of underground musicians and creatives throughout the nearly four-year-long siege of Sarajevo, as well as the 1997 U2 concert celebrating the liberation of the Bosnian capital. The film serves as a testament to art’s enduring ability to cast light even in the darkest of circumstances and reflects Tribeca’s founding mission of utilizing the power of storytelling to heal communities. Kiss the Future, produced by Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Sarah Anthony, and featuring U2’s Bono, The Edge, and Adam Clayton, officially opens the 12-day festival and sets Tribeca’s tone with its theme of artists-activists.
“Ben and I are proud of this film and are honored that it has been selected to open the Tribeca Festival,” states Damon. “We are grateful to the people of Sarajevo and to U2 for giving us the opportunity to help tell this special story. Though this event happened almost 30 years ago, we feel it has strong relevance to today’s world, serving as a powerful reminder that human creativity can provide a powerful antidote to even the most horrific of situations.”
Other Gala selections include the world premieres of music documentaries about Grammy-winning artists Carlos Santana, Cyndi Lauper, and French Montana with dedicated performances by each artist after the screenings. Additionally, Grammy-winning Megan Thee Stallion is participating in a live conversation. The Gala events, sponsored by City National Bank, take place at the Beacon Theatre on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
The Tribeca Festival is curated by Festival Director and VP of Programming Cara Cusumano, Artistic Director Frédéric Boyer; VP of Programming Sharon Badal and VP of Shorts Programming Ben Thompson; Senior Programmers Liza Domnitz, Faridah Gbadamosi, and Jarod Neece; Programmers José F. Rodriguez, Casey Baron, Jason Gutierrez, and Jonathan Penner; VP of Games and Immersive Casey Baltes and Immersive Curator Ana Brzezińska; Curator of Audio Storytelling Davy Gardner; Music Programmer Vincent Cassous; EVP of Artist Relations Nancy Lefkowitz and VP of Artist Relations Meredith Mohr; and Chief Content Officer Paula Weinstein, along with a team of associate programmers.
