Kiss the Future, a new documentary feature produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, has landed in hot soup ahead of Hollywood’s awards season. The film has been deemed ineligible for Oscars by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, the governing body of the awards. However, the film’s producers have criticised the Academy’s ruling over a rule that they say has been misinterpreted.

Why Kiss the Future was deemed ineligible for Oscars

On Monday, Deadline reported that the Academy had deemed Kiss the Future ineligible for the 2025 Oscars as its theatrical release had not satisfied and fulfilled the criteria set in the rules. All films that vie for the Oscars need to have a wide release in a specific number of theatres in the US. The Academy stated that Kiss the Future played fewer shows than were required hence, it was deemed ineligible.

The producers’ appeal

However, the film’s producers - Damon, Ben Affleck and Sarah Anthony, argued the film’s wide release – in 139 AMC cinemas including screens in the qualifying markets of Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Atlanta – should be enough to make it Oscar-eligible. The Academy argued that Kiss the Future only played two shows a day and not the minimum three, as specified in Rule 12 of Oscar guidelines. The producers’ appeal was, hence, rejected.

However, after the story was broken by Deadline, many social media users investigated the Oscar guidelines and pointed out that nowhere is it mentioned that the film needs to have three shows on one screen. If all the screens in a city are counted, then Kiss the Future played much more than just three shows and hence, must be deemed eligible.

All about Kiss the Future

Kiss the Future, directed by director Nenad Cicin-Sain, tells the story of the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s and how U2’s music helped inspire the city’s beleaguered residents. The film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival last year, followed by its US premiere at Tribeca Festival. It was nominated for the Cinema for Peace Award and won the Audience Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival.

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