Oasis reunited in Venice: Live '25 tour documentary premieres at the film festival
Liam and Noel Gallagher arrived together at the 83rd Venice Film Festival, where the documentary film Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger had its world premiere on September 5, 2026. Their arrival on the Lido was one of the most notable musical moments of this year's festival: the brothers appeared before photographers after arriving together by water taxi, almost a year after the end of the tour that made Oasis active again following a long period of separation. Reuters reported that, when asked about arriving in Venice, Liam replied with the words "Biblical man, biblical", while Noel briefly said "Bellissimo". The official La Biennale di Venezia program included the film in the Venice Open - Out of Competition section, meaning outside the main competition. The premiere public screening was held in the Sala Grande, and the festival on Venice's Lido runs from September 2 to 12.
The 122-minute documentary follows the Oasis Live '25 comeback tour while at the same time examining the relationship between the two brothers, whose conflicts have for decades been almost as famous as the band's songs. According to the festival's official synopsis, the film features previously unreleased rehearsal footage, concert scenes and the first joint interviews with Liam and Noel Gallagher in more than 25 years. Directors Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace were given access to rehearsals, the stage, backstage areas and the audience, shaping the film as a combination of a concert experience, a family portrait and a story about how music can connect audiences of different generations. The project's writing and creative framework was developed by Steven Knight, the creator known for the series Peaky Blinders, while production was led by Magna Studios and the project is presented by Sony Music Vision. The Venice festival lists Haris Zambarloukos as the principal director of photography, with editing by George Cragg and Martina Zamolo.
From arriving on the Lido to the premiere in the Sala Grande
The Gallaghers' joint appearance in Venice carried strong symbolism precisely because for years they had rarely been seen together outside a professional context. Reuters photographs from September 5 show Liam and Noel at the official photo call together with the festival's artistic director Alberto Barbera. The brothers posed for photographers but did not take part in the press conference at which Steven Knight, Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace spoke about the film. Rolling Stone Italia reported that the directors explained at the conference that the entire project had been conceived so that events in front of the cameras could unfold with as little intervention from the film crew as possible. Instead of a conventional documentary assembled from retrospective testimonies and archival commentary, the filmmakers wanted to capture the reunion process as it was actually happening.
That decision is particularly visible in the rehearsal footage. Southern said in Venice that over approximately six weeks the cameras were positioned so that the band members were barely aware of the film crew's presence. The goal, according to his explanation, was to record the behavior of the brothers and the other musicians without constantly reminding them that they were taking part in a film production. This is precisely why some of the most striking scenes do not rely on major statements, but on brief gestures, tense entrances into a room, jokes and a gradual easing of distance. Reuters notes that the film shows Liam entering the first rehearsal without much of a greeting, while the brothers' relationship gradually changes over the course of the tour.
A film about the tour, but even more about the relationship between two brothers
Oasis was formed in Manchester in the early 1990s, and Liam's voice and Noel's songwriting became the foundation of the band's distinctive sound that defined the Britpop era. The albums Definitely Maybe from 1994 and (What's the Story) Morning Glory? from 1995 turned the group into one of the most commercially and culturally important British rock bands of its time. Nevertheless, the Gallagher brothers' creative partnership was accompanied for years by public arguments, breakups and mutual accusations. The final split occurred in August 2009, following a backstage confrontation before a planned performance at the Rock en Seine festival near Paris. Noel then announced that he was leaving Oasis, and the band ceased operating in its previous form.
Because of that history, the announcement of the reunion in August 2024 was not just another concert story. It confirmed that Liam and Noel had decided to work together again after 15 years, immediately raising the question of whether their professional collaboration could survive a months-long world tour. The film builds precisely on that uncertainty as one of its main dramatic threads. Steven Knight said at the press conference in Venice that the filmmakers could not know in advance whether the story would end successfully because, unlike in a fictional film, they could not control how the relationship developed. According to Reuters, Knight emphasized that from the beginning he wanted a film about reconciliation, redemption and forgiveness, but that the outcome depended on real people and their decisions.
At the same time, the documentary does not try to turn the Gallaghers into characters who suddenly openly analyze decades of conflict. The directors explained that the opposite is true - most of the change can be seen through work, shared performances and everyday situations. Reuters also cites Noel's statement that the two brothers' children had not even met before the comeback tour, but quickly became close during the tour. In the final part of the film, Noel describes Liam as pleasant company, something that, according to the agency's report, he himself presented as an unexpected development in their relationship. Such details give the film a family dimension that goes beyond the question of whether a famous band can reunite.
Oasis Live '25: 41 concerts on five continents
The band's official archive shows the scale of the tour documented by the film. Oasis Live '25 began on July 4, 2025 in Cardiff and ended on November 23, 2025 in São Paulo. In between, the band performed 41 concerts across Europe, North America, Asia, Australia and South America. The itinerary included stadiums and large outdoor venues in Manchester, London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Toronto, Chicago, the New York area, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Seoul, Tokyo, Melbourne, Sydney, Buenos Aires, Santiago and São Paulo. Many of the dates sold out, and additional concerts were added because of demand.
The comeback began in Cardiff, but the strongly emotional center of the British part of the tour was the performances in Manchester, the city where Oasis was formed. The film, however, does not remain tied only to British nostalgia. According to the filmmakers, one of their main intentions was to show how songs created more than three decades ago had found a new audience among people who had not even been born when the first albums were released. Knight explained in Venice that he was surprised by how much interest in the tour also came from younger generations. The directors therefore follow the audience on different continents alongside the brothers and the band, trying to answer why songs such as Live Forever, Wonderwall and Don't Look Back in Anger still have such a powerful collective effect.
Rolling Stone Italia reported that the production filmed the concert sections at 12 shows on three continents, with the filmmakers deliberately avoiding the standard visual language of concert films. Instead of covering every song with predetermined cameras and stage shots, they hired cinematographers from narrative cinema in different cities and allowed them to follow whatever they found emotionally most interesting in the crowd or on stage. The directors of photography involved included Lol Crawley and James Laxton, while Haris Zambarloukos held the central cinematography role on the project. This approach was intended to create the impression that the viewer is not merely observing a concert but is part of a crowd reacting to the same moment.
The first joint interview in more than a quarter of a century
One of the film's key elements is a joint conversation between Liam and Noel. The official La Biennale synopsis refers to their first joint interviews in more than 25 years, while some promotional materials phrased it as more than 20 years. In the film, that conversation appears only near the end, which, according to Dylan Southern, was a deliberate storytelling decision. Individual interviews with the brothers were filmed before rehearsals began so that each of them could separately talk about the tension, expectations and the possibility that the comeback might fall apart. Only after the tour had progressed and their relationship had changed did the filmmakers place them together in front of the camera.
This structure allows the joint interview to function as the result of a process rather than as a predetermined confirmation of reconciliation. Southern explained in Venice that if viewers had seen the brothers together at the very beginning, the film would have lost some of its natural tension. Knight added that the later conversation immediately shows how the brothers are once again able to joke with each other. The film therefore deals not only with the fact that they performed together again, but also with the change in tone between them - from caution during rehearsals to more relaxed communication after months of working together.
The title Don't Look Back in Anger, taken from one of Oasis's best-known songs, acquires additional meaning in that context. The filmmakers emphasized at the press conference that they did not want to pass judgment again on every detail of the 2009 breakup or reconstruct every old argument. The focus is on the present, on what happened when two people with a very public history of conflict found themselves again in the same room, on the same stage and in front of millions of fans. Knight described the entire project as a story about finding common ground in a period marked by social divisions and aggressive public communication.
The audience as the documentary's third main character
According to the directors, during filming the movie gradually grew from a story about the band into a story about the relationship between the band and its audience. Southern told Reuters that after moving from rehearsals to stadiums, the audience's reactions became an integral part of the story of the brothers' reconciliation. The filmmakers did not want to speak only with the most devoted fans who know every detail of Oasis's history, but also with people who connect particular songs with specific life experiences. In this way, the documentary tries to explain why the comeback of a band from the 1990s can function as a global cultural event decades after its commercial peak.
That decision also explains why the documentary was presented at a major film festival rather than simply as a musical record of the tour. La Biennale's official description defines the film partly as a visceral concert movie, partly as a study of a complex fraternal relationship, and partly as a celebration of the shared experience of music. The directorial approach focused on the audience, faces in the crowd and the brothers' reactions on stage attempts to connect all three layers. The Venice premiere therefore gave the film a context in which it can also be viewed as a document about popular culture, family and the way mass musical experiences create a sense of belonging.
After Venice come cinemas and streaming
According to Sony Music Vision and Disney's regional announcements, after its world premiere the documentary enters theatrical distribution during the following week, with dates varying by market. Screenings have been announced from September 9 in some countries, while Sony Music lists selected IMAX and theatrical screenings for the international release from September 11, 2026. After its limited theatrical run, the film is expected to become available later in the year on Disney+ outside the United States, while Hulu and Disney+ have been announced for the U.S. market. The schedule for individual countries depends on the local distributor, so the availability date is not the same in every market.
For Oasis, the film arrives at a moment when the 2025 comeback has already transformed from a short-lived reunion project into a new chapter in the band's history. Official sources currently confirm what has already been completed - the Live '25 tour and the documentary - while future concert plans continue to appear in media speculation and statements by band members. What was confirmed in Venice is that the story of the comeback is no longer only the subject of concert recordings and archival compilations: it now has a feature-length film record that the filmmakers shaped as a document of a relationship in transition. After 16 years without performing together, Liam and Noel Gallagher once again appeared together before a global audience - this time not only in a stadium, but also on the big screen.
Sources:
- La Biennale di Venezia - official film page, information about the program, running time, filmmakers and synopsis (link)
- La Biennale di Venezia - official information about the 83rd Venice Film Festival and its dates (link)
- Reuters / KSL.com - report on Liam and Noel Gallagher's arrival in Venice and statements by the film's creators (link)
- Sony Music - official announcement of the documentary's world premiere and international distribution (link)
- Oasis - official list of Oasis Live '25 tour concerts (link)
- Rolling Stone Italia - report from the Venice press conference on the filming process, interviews and cinematic approach (link)
- Associated Press - report on the documentary premiere and the history of the band's reunion (link)