Oscars 2025: Ben Affleck And Matt Damon's Documentary Kiss The Future Ruled "Ineligible" By The Academy

Kiss The Future, a documentary produced by Hollywood actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, has been knocked out of the Oscars 2025 race. The docu-film was deemed ineligible for the Oscars by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, the governing body of the awards. The Academy contends that the movie did not fulfil a particular requirement, which was to be shown in "the same commercial motion picture theatre" three times a day for a week. Producers Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Sarah Anthony asked for a reevaluation of eligibility ruling in their appeal to The Academy. However, their appeal was denied, reported Deadline on Monday. 

In an August 20 letter, Kiss The Future producers asked The Academy to reevaluate their initial eligibility ruling for their film. An excerpt from the letter read, “The film first premiered in competition at Berlinale in February 2023. It was then selected as the opening film for the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2023, and for the Sarajevo Film Festival in August 2023, where it received the Audience Award. It has screened at numerous other festivals, and in February of 2024 was released theatrically by AMC for a two-week run in 139 theaters across all major markets in the U.S. In some theatres, the film screened three times daily, but… the programmers [AMC] neglected to do a three-times daily screening within New York or Los Angeles.”

The Academy wrote back saying, “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. All determinations from the Executive Committee are final.”

Reacting to the denial of their appeal, Kiss The Future director Nenad Cicin-Sain told Deadline, “This is like rule whack-a-mole. I'm seriously considering doing a documentary about this experience — it's probably more of a comedy, which really is more financially lucrative.” 

Kiss The Future chronicles the narrative of the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s and how U2's music helped inspire the city's embattled citizens. The movie had its US premiere at the Tribeca Festival after making its debut at the Berlin Film Festival the previous year. It took home the Audience Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival. It was also a nominee for the Cinema for Peace Award.