David Byrne Announces 70mm Concert Film 'Who Is the Sky?' Directed by Brady Corbet

David Byrne is once again adding to his decades-long concert-film legacy with the upcoming Who Is the Sky?, a large-format documentary capturing his 2025–2026 world tour in support of his acclaimed album of the same name. Helmed by the Brutalist writer-director Brady Corbet, the forthcoming project—a follow-up to 2023's Spike Lee-shot American Utopia — was filmed over multiple nights in Byrne's hometown of Baltimore during his most recent tour.

The concert film was shot at Baltimore's historic Hippodrome theatre, where Byrne performed multiple sold-out shows in May. Corbet, whose The Brutalist earned 10 Oscar nominations and three wins, captured the performances on a combination of 8-perf and 15-perf 70mm film, a format that delivers exceptional resolution and visual depth, typically reserved for epic narrative features rather than concert documentaries.

"When Brady told me he wanted to shoot our show in 70 millimeter (70 millimeter!) I didn't realize what a difference it would make until I saw some frames he sent me," Byrne said 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". Corbet echoed the sentiment, adding: "I am so grateful to David Byrne and his entire team for entrusting us to capture his hometown show on 8-perf and 15-perf 70mm. The band's performance is an inclusive celebration of community, and of Baltimore in particular one of America's most underappreciated historic cities".

The Who Is the Sky? tour, which launched in September 2025, has played more than 150 shows across four continents. Like his previous American Utopia trek, the production features Byrne alongside an ensemble of 13 musicians, singers, and dancers in constant motion onstage, blending choreography, visual art, storytelling, and music into one continuous performance. The setlist draws from Byrne's 2025 album Who Is the Sky? His first solo record since 2018's American Utopia while also reaching back to Talking Heads classics including "Psycho Killer," "Burning Down the House," and the rarity "Houses in Motion," which hadn't been performed since 2009.

Byrne's history with concert films is unusually rich. Jonathan Demme's 1984 Talking Heads documentary Stop Making Sense remains a landmark of the form, widely regarded as one of the greatest concert films ever made. Spike Lee's David Byrne's American Utopia (2020) translated Byrne's Broadway stage production to the screen and earned two Emmy Awards. With Corbet now joining that lineage, Byrne continues a tradition of collaborating with Oscar-winning or -nominated directors on his live-performance documentaries.

The film is currently in post-production, with distribution and release details yet to be announced. It is produced by Corbet's company Pre-Code along with The Deep End Films, whose credits include Sly Lives! The Sparks Brothers, The Greatest Night in Pop, and Little Richard: I Am Everything. The project is presented by River Road Entertainment, with producers including Amit Dey, Jason Fine, Corbet, Maddie Browning, and Byrne himself. Global distribution rights are being handled by Byrne's film agents at the Gersh Agency, alongside The Deep End.

"We are thrilled to help bring David Byrne's incredible, joyous tour to the screen in a way that can be shared for all time," said The Deep End's Jason Fine and Amit Dey. "This film will capture one of our greatest artists at the peak of his craft, in a moment that brings people together when we need it most, and that will elevate the concert film experience to a new level".

The tour is scheduled to conclude on September 19 at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York. Following that, Byrne will embark on a book tour for Sleeping Beauties, his forthcoming work exploring overlooked ideas and discoveries, ranging from dark matter and continental drift to artists including Bach, Bruegel, and Vermeer.

For now, audiences await word on when and in what format Corbet's 70mm concert film will reach screens. Given the filmmakers' commitment to large-format cinematography, there is speculation about whether the film will be released in 70mm engagements, though no official plans have been confirmed. What is certain is that Byrne's latest cinematic collaboration promises to add another visually stunning chapter to his already remarkable concert-film legacy.