Scream for Me Sarajevo

Randomly screened on the BBC over Christmas 2020 - what I'd taken to simply be a concert film with some historical framing turns out to be quite a touching and harrowing documentary about the Bruce Dickinson solo band being essentially smuggled into the besieged Sarajevo to play a concert for the people there. It's got a commendably sharp focus and only really speaks to those directly involved - it's an endearingly frank portrait of a painful period of history, but also the spirit of music, the optimism of youth and the wild escapism that can flood into you during a really unforgettable gig.

I have just watched an amazing documentary. I am a Maiden fan and have seen Bruce many times. I have been to loads of great gigs but I never went to one where I may get shot by a sniper or blown up by an artillery round.

Those who made it happen deserve immense praise for thinking of something as insane as this and then doing something about it. Kudos to Bruce and the band for literally risking their lives for a gig.

Also those courageous and wonderful people who managed to dismiss from their mind all the madness around them and braved potentially snipers and mortars to attend something magical.

The lesson they teach us is you don't listen to music with your ears you listen to it with your soul.

A touching and emotional documentary telling the surreal story of Iron Maiden's concert in war torn Sarajevo in 1994. Filled with interviews of die hard fans who risked their lives just to be at the concert, the struggles of organizing such an event in the middle of a war as well as the experiences of the band members and how that one concert shaped all of their lives. "Scream For Me Sarajevo" is a special documentary showing that the human spirit can't be tied down or defeated no matter the circumstances.

In 1994, at the height of the siege of Sarejevo, a British Army officier conceived and executed a plan to have Bruce Dickinson, the lead singer of Iron Maiden, come and play a concert. What followed was a harrowing but rewarding experience for the band, and a rare outburst of joy for those who attended. I enjoyed this documentary, primarily because it doesn't overly focus on the supposed heroism of the band. Rather it conveys quite why their presence meant so much to their audience, and the real story told is the underlying tale of how a civilised European country was torn apart long after many of us had assumed that kind of thing just didn't happen here. There's something engagingly, defiantly daft about putting on a heavy metal show amid such tragedy; and this film nicely balances these two sides as it reconstructs the tale.

How did I not know about this concert in the middle of this war? This was a fantastic doc -from the fans point of view and from the band POV. It's really moving and really eye awakening (that this could happen in any modern day society in a flash.). It was great to hear their stories and memories. Everyone was affected by this -all who where involved and seemed to be a very humbling POV from the band. Which this event has obviously stuck with them their entire lives/career. And how the people there lived in this daily and they only saw it for a second in the grand scheme of things. It's really great but when I first saw this a couple years ago -it was longer. Had more interviews and some scenes had been re worked or cut. Or even just put in a diff place in the doc. I thought that cut was better. This has happened to several documentaries I have seen in the last couple years. It's all of sudden different and sometimes ruins the entire doc. This was still great. Still emotional. I'm not a fan of this band or Iron Maiden but have great respect for all of them after seeing this. Truly enjoyed it. And if you're a fan of Bruce D or IM -then really take the time to watch this. My husband and my best male friend loved it.