Steven Knight says the story at the center of Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger is not simply a band comeback, but a family and creative repair job built around “reconciliation, redemption, and forgiveness.”
The creator-writer-producer spoke at the Venice Film Festival as the anticipated Oasis documentary arrived on the Lido for its press conference and world premiere screening. The film follows Liam and Noel Gallagher as they reconnect after a widely publicized 15-year separation, documenting the band’s reunion tour last year and featuring the brothers’ first joint interviews in 20 years.
Liam and Noel did not attend the press conference, though both were present at the photocall. The film is co-directed by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, with Knight serving as creator, writer and producer.
Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger is set to launch in cinemas on September 11, with a Disney+ release to follow later this year.
A reunion captured from the inside
The filmmakers described an approach designed to let the reunion unfold without visible interference. During the rehearsal process, they said they placed around a dozen hidden cameras to record the band. For the live performances, they expanded to roughly 18 cameras, with some of the world’s top DPs handling the cinematography.
Southern said the goal was to keep the production out of the band’s eyeline during the earliest and most sensitive phase of the process.
“Our aim was to be completely invisible to the band,” Southern said. “I don’t think for six weeks they saw us or a single member of our crew, even though the crew was hiding away somewhere.”
He said the team put cameras into the rehearsal space and then stepped back, allowing the footage to capture what happened without shaping it. “The whole idea was that it shouldn’t feel mediated, and it should feel as close to what it would feel like if the cameras weren’t there,” he said.
As the tour progressed, Southern said, the film’s focus broadened beyond the brothers and the rehearsal room. The crowds became part of the story, particularly in terms of how the audience response affected the relationship between Liam and Noel.
“We didn’t want it to be the film that influenced the relationship,” Southern said. “We wanted to document the very genuine thing that was happening. The love and excitement coming from the crowd was integral in them coming back together. The music brought them back together. They reunited on stage.”
Knight on the first rehearsal
Knight, whose credits include Peaky Blinders, recounted one of the film’s pivotal early moments: Liam Gallagher returning to rehearse with the band. He described it as a scene that reflected both the emotional weight of the reunion and the understated way it began.
“The first time that Liam walks into the rehearsal room, the first time that they’re going to perform together for however many years, they haven’t spoken to each other, and they’re British working class men, so they’re not going to high five or hug or cry,” Knight said.
According to Knight, Liam entered with a practical remark rather than a grand gesture. “Liam walks in and says, ‘What’s that on the drum? Get rid of it’. And then he says, ‘Okay, should we start? Should we go?’ And they go, ‘1234, bang, and they’re in’.”
Knight said the relationship between the brothers developed across the tour itself. He noted that their children became friends and described the dynamic as becoming “family again.”
“I think that we were very fortunate that that’s what happened because that’s exactly what we hoped would happen,” Knight said, “because from the beginning we wanted to make this a film about reconciliation, redemption, and forgiveness.”
Knight also said at the event that he is currently writing the new James Bond movie, describing the experience as one he loves and saying it is going very well.
A high-demand comeback
The documentary arrives after a reunion tour that generated intense demand. Oasis played 17 gigs last year, beginning in Cardiff in July. Ticket demand was so high that many fans ended up paying hundreds of dollars more than expected because of “dynamic pricing” on sales websites, a practice that was later investigated by a government watchdog.
Within that context, Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger positions the comeback not only as a major music event, but as a closely observed portrait of two brothers rebuilding a relationship in front of vast crowds while the band returned to the stage.
What Happens Next?
Following its Venice world premiere, Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger heads to cinemas on September 11. The film will then stream on Disney+ later this year.