David Byrne Who Is the Sky, his follow-up concert film to 2023’s American Utopia, has been announced, shot on 70mm film by writer-director Brady Corbet over multiple nights in Byrne’s hometown of Baltimore. Release details are yet to be confirmed.
The project marks another chapter in Byrne’s long relationship with the concert film format, and it arrives with some serious creative firepower behind the camera. Corbet, whose film The Brutalist earned a record-tying 10 Academy Award nominations, winning three, according to Rock Cellar Magazine, brings that same instinct for grand visual scale to a live music context.
Byrne on Why 70mm Changes Everything
Byrne has been characteristically candid about the revelation of seeing the footage. ‘When Brady told me he wanted to shoot our show in 70 millimeter (70 millimeter!) I didn’t realise what a difference it would make until I saw some frames he sent me,’ Byrne wrote in a statement. ‘He was right, it really does capture the wide screen visual scope of the show. I’ve never seen anything like it.’
The choice of 70mm is not a gimmick. The format, associated with epic cinematic productions, allows for a level of detail and depth that standard film stocks simply cannot match. For a live show built around spectacle and choreography, the decision makes a particular kind of sense, and Byrne’s response to those early frames suggests Corbet knew exactly what he was doing when he pitched it.
The film is produced by The Deep End Films and Pre-Code, Corbet’s own company, along with Mona Fastvold, and is presented by River Road Entertainment, according to Pollstar News. That production setup keeps Corbet closely involved at every level, rather than simply taking on a directing-for-hire role.
A Tour That Has Already Covered Serious Ground
The Who Is the Sky? tour, which provided the source material filmed in Baltimore, has by any measure been a substantial undertaking. Rock Cellar Magazine reports the run has taken in more than 150 performances across four continents, giving Corbet and his crew a body of live material from which to draw and a strong sense of what the show looks like at its peak.
Baltimore was chosen as the filming location, which carries its own weight given it is Byrne’s hometown. There is a case to be made that returning to a city with that personal history adds something to the document, though the footage will ultimately speak for itself once a release window is announced.
The predecessor, American Utopia, was directed by Spike Lee and released in 2023, cementing Byrne’s reputation for treating the concert film as a genuine artistic object rather than a straightforward document of a tour. That film drew on his Broadway run and became one of the more talked-about music films of its cycle. Who Is the Sky? sets the bar even higher in format terms, with 70mm carrying an implicit ambition that the filmmakers clearly intend to justify.
Corbet’s involvement also raises the profile of the project beyond the usual concert film conversation. Coming off the success of The Brutalist, his name will travel in circles that might not have followed a live music film otherwise, potentially pulling in an audience that arrives through the cinema door rather than the gig queue.
For anyone who caught the Who Is the Sky? tour in person, this is the chance to see what those nights in Baltimore looked like through a lens built for the biggest possible canvas. Visit davidbyrne.com for updates as release details are confirmed.
