Kevin MacDonald's John & Yoko doc premieres at Venice Film Festival

Kevin MacDonald's documentary 'One to One: John & Yoko' premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, offering an atypical portrait of John Lennon and Yoko Ono during their first year in New York after the Beatles' breakup. Co-directed and edited with Sam Rice-Edward, the film reconstructs their Greenwich Village apartment on Bank Street, where the couple engaged in political activism and creative work. The documentary features restored footage from the 'One to One' concert at Madison Square Garden on August 30, 1972, Lennon's first solo concert after the Beatles, which was a fundraiser for children with disabilities at Willowbrook State School. The film also highlights Yoko Ono's personal struggles from 1971 to 1973, including her search for her daughter and her experience of public hatred, as well as her artistic contributions. A notable moment is her performance of 'Looking Over from My Hotel Window,' expressing maternal pain. The documentary includes conversations with friends and collaborators like Jim Keltner, and addresses Lennon's political transformation and his prophetic response to concerns about his safety: 'I don't intend to get shot.'