We had already announced earlier this month that from September 30 to October 3 the documentary Linkin Park: Unshatter would hit theaters. Directed by Joe Hahn, a founding member of the American alternative metal band Linkin Park, the film focuses on the band’s most challenging years, precisely the most recent ones, starting with the devastating loss of Chester Bennington, who died by suicide on July 20, 2017, and moving through the release of the album From Zero (in 2024) to the legendary concert in São Paulo. In the documentary, there are alongside these moments legendary archival footage and images of intimate studio sessions and various performances. Not surprisingly, the film also includes interviews with the band members themselves and with the fans, with the aim of helping viewers understand how difficult and painful it can be to lose not only a frontman but also a close friend.
Linkin Park: Unshatter is not merely a celebration of the band or of Chester Bennington, but, as stated in the presentation, “it is the account of a human and artistic journey built through images gathered over the years, many of which were not originally intended to become part of a film.” The memory of the past coexists in the documentary with the narration of the present, in the sense that the new chapter of the Linkin Park is told, marked by the entry of singer Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain.
About Linkin Park: Unshatter, which takes its title from one of the early songs written by the band together with Armstrong and subsequently included in the From Zero creative universe, Joe Hahn stressed:
Unshatter tells a very particular moment in Linkin Park’s history and documents a journey through loss, uncertainty, friendship and renewal. I hope longtime fans discover parts of our journey they’ve never seen before, and that those who are just approaching our music for the first time understand better how we got here. But beyond Linkin Park, I hope people find themselves in this story as a tale of relationships, resilience and of what it truly means to move forward when you don’t have all the answers.
The director also explained that at the beginning he didn’t intend to shoot a film but simply to record the São Paulo concert, but as the cameras captured the band’s performances, he began to feel the need to broaden the narrative by first addressing the uncertainty and disorientation into which both he and his colleagues fell after Bennington’s desperate act. Hahn, however, aimed to be honest above all else:
Sarebbe stato facile raccontare la versione dei fatti che la gente si aspettava o quella costruita per i titoli dei giornali e le interviste, ma non è mai stato questo il nostro obiettivo. Volevo catturare le nostre conversazioni, i nostri dubbi, i nostri momenti creativi e tutto ciò che c’era in mezzo e che solo le persone che avevano vissuto tutto questo potevano davvero capire.
As a video auteur, Joe Hahn had to put in a tremendous effort to create an entire feature that’s engaging and well-paced. The most delicate phase was undoubtedly editing, given the hours and hours of footage. Yet the professionalism and dedication of Igor Kovalik, who edited all the Linkin Park videos, pushed him not to give up and to hope for the best, because he genuinely wanted to thank the fans by delivering “a story that speaks of human relationships, of resilience and of what it really means to move forward when you don’t have all the answers.”
In conjunction with the film’s cinematic release, the soundtrack Unshatter (Live in São Paulo) will arrive on September 25, featuring extraordinary performances of songs spanning the band’s career, including exclusive recordings not present in the film. The album is already available for pre-order, and fans can listen today to “Somewhere I Belong (Live in São Paulo)”.
Linkin Park Unshatter: The Trailer for the Documentary About Linkin Park’s Final Years
The trailer for Linkin Park: Unshatter has just been released. Here it is!
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