From the streets of Sarajevo to a global stage with U2, Bill Carter has spent his career telling stories that demand attention. During a recent visit to campus, he shared those experiences—and the lessons behind them—with students during Upper School Assembly and smaller classroom discussions.
Carter, a writer, documentary filmmaker, and Professor of Practice in Film Production at Northern Arizona University, is best known for his work chronicling life in Sarajevo during the Bosnian War. His memoir “Fools Rush In” and the documentary “Kiss the Future” (produced by Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Sarah Anthony) tell the story of how he helped connect residents of the besieged city with global audiences, through live satellite broadcasts during U2’s world tour, bringing international attention to a conflict many had overlooked.
Hosted by GFA alum David Capodilupo ’79, the assembly offered students a window into Carter’s remarkable career and the mindset that shaped it. At the start of Upper School Assembly, Capodilupo reflected on his own time at GFA, sharing that the school “helped me look at myself and who I wanted to be,” and noted that Carter’s visit felt especially relevant as students prepare for lives increasingly connected to a global landscape.
Throughout the conversation, Carter returned to a central theme: curiosity. Describing himself as “fascinated by human beings,” he spoke about how his work has always been driven by a desire to understand people and cultures different from his own. That curiosity first took shape after college, when he backpacked for a year through Asia: reading, meeting people, and beginning to see the world in a new way.A personal tragedy soon after profoundly shifted his perspective. Carter described entering a period where fear no longer held the same weight, a mindset that ultimately allowed him to take the kinds of risks that defined his work in Sarajevo. Those experiences, he explained, taught him that “risk is the place that leads to creativity and great storytelling.” While his work in Sarajevo often involved physical risk, Carter noted that the deeper risk comes when you involve the mind and the heart, and are able to transfer your sympathy for others to empathy. This kind of risk, he explained, leads you to action.
That willingness to take risks and push forward, even in the face of uncertainty or rejection, became a defining part of his journey. Recalling how he once managed to gain access to a U2 concert in Italy with no resources, Carter noted that his path was often shaped by persistence. “Risk is the place that leads to creativity and great storytelling.”On multiple occasions, when he was faced with “no,” he simply kept going until he found someone willing to say “yes.”
In discussing his approach to storytelling, Carter shared advice that extended well beyond filmmaking. The key, he explained, is not in the questions you ask, but in how you listen. Building trust requires time, and a commitment to showing genuine interest, being present, and approaching others with what he called “an energy of fascination.” If you can do this, you allow stories to surface naturally, in a meaningful way. “Everyone wants to tell their story,” he said. “You just have to find a way to get that nugget of trust.”
Across both the assembly and classroom conversations, Carter encouraged students to look beyond their immediate surroundings, to seek out different perspectives, and to embrace the kind of multicultural understanding that fosters real connection. He also urged students to embrace the process of learning, saying “whatever you do, take your time and DO it”, since the process itself is what helps you grow. By the end of the day, his message felt less like a set of instructions and more like a way of approaching the world. “Stay curious,” he told students in closing, “and you’re going to be fine.”