That Noel and Liam Gallagher would attend the Venice press conference for their new documentary was always a definitely maybe.
In the end, the brothers, reunited after a 15 year split and hot off a blockbuster global tour — the subject of the doc, Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger — did not meet the press in Venice. After posing for a photo call, the Gallaghers buggered off and it was down to Steven Knight, creator of the documentary, and directors Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace to be here now and roll with it.
The doc follows Oasis across 12 concerts on three continents during their Live ’25 tour, the band’s first live appearances since their acrimonious split back in 2009. The tour was a phenomenal success, generating more than $400 million in box office revenue.
Knight, known for creating Peaky Blinders, had never made a documentary before, but said he jumped at the opportunity.
“And speaking first of all to Noel, and he saying that they were astonished at the response to the announcement of the tour, because there was such demand for tickets, it was apparent that only the generation who had originally loved Oasis, but the next generation had discovered the music and had, you know, a strong attachment to it. And the question was, why did that happen?”
In addition to the concerts, the documentary includes previously unseen backstage and rehearsal footage and the brothers’ first joint interviews in more than 20 years. Southern and Lovelace are known for such music docs as Shut Up and Play the Hits (2012), about LCD Soundsystem, and the Blur documentary No Distance Left to Run (2012).
Lovelace said in the process of filming, they “captured [the Gallaghers’] relationship coming back together. The whole world was interested in that, after 15 years apart, would it work and what was it going to be like? It was a privilege to be able to see that relationship get closer together, both in rehearsals, but then also throughout the tour.”
“We wanted to document the very genuine thing that was happening,” added Southern. “The excitement coming from the crowd was integral in them coming back together. The music brought them back together. They reunited on stage.”
Knight said they had no idea what would happen going in, given that Noel and Liam had not spoken to each other in 15 years. “So, 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 British working-class men, so they’re not going to high-five or hurt or cry,” he said. “Liam walks in [and says] “Okay, should we start? Should we go? And they go, 1234, bang. And so that’s the way it began. And the relationship develops. We had cameras on that relationship developing for real as they tour. Their kids become friends. It’s a family again. I think it was very fortunate that’s what happened because that’s exactly what we hoped for from the beginning, we wanted to make this a film about reconciliation, redemption, and forgiveness.”
Knight noted that the Gallaghers’ have seen the film and were “beyond satisfied, I think it was very emotional [for them] having watched it, which is great. But then, you know, as with everything, that’s not something they are going to go into detail talking about.”
Southern and Lovelace make ample use of archive footage from the Gallaghers’ 90s heyday. But the core of the film is the concerts, and the experience of the fans, as the directors follows several die-hard Oasis stans from around the world as they attend the tour.
“It was a combination of going out and searching out the most interesting people in most interesting places,” said Lovelace. “Part of the idea of this film was to look at why does this music matter to people who from all over the world? You know, this music was born in Manchester, but you’re suddenly in South Korea, and there are young people who weren’t born when the music was written, who have a deep connection to it.”
Asked whether he thought the Gallaghers reconciliation was temporary, or if another split was in their future, Lovelace was optimistic.
“Is it going to happen again? It doesn’t appear to be. You know, they seem to get on pretty well.”
Following Venice, Disney will give Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger a limited theatrical run, with the film opening in select Imax and U.S. cinemas on Sept. 11. It will then stream later this year on Hulu in the U.S. and exclusively on Disney+ internationally.
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