1970s New York. Andy Warhol, Susan Sontag, Studio 54, John Lennon and Yoko Ono . It’s a period that has been explored to death, with countless works on the ‘scene’ across the city.
Is there really anything fresh or engaging to be said about that time or its main protagonists? Scottish filmmaker Kevin Macdonald offers an interesting answer with his new feature documentary One To One: John & Yoko , which debuts tomorrow at the Venice Film Festival. Set in New York in 1972, the ambitious and formally experimental film explores the time through the musical, personal, artistic, social, and political worlds of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. At the core of the film is the little-known One to One charity concert for special needs children, John Lennon’s only full-length concert between the final Beatles gig in 1966 and his death.
The film includes a collection of previously unseen Lennon archives, including personal phone calls, home movies filmed by John and Yoko as well as restored and remastered footage from the One to One concert with remixed audio overseen by their son, Sean Ono Lennon. Macdonald’s unique approach to the material provides viewers with an intimate look into the legendary couple’s lives but also creates a powerful bridge between the violent turbulence of 1970s America and our social and political climate today. Below, Macdonald speaks to us about diving into the archives of the Lennon estate, visiting John and Yoko’s now-demolished apartment on Bank Stree.