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ABC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
John & Yoko doco covers activism, music and life in 1970s New York
In 1971, John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono swapped their Ascot mansion and 70-acre estate for a two-room loft in New York's Greenwich Village. They threw themselves headfirst into the political and social movements of the time, helping the counterculture pick up the pieces after what Lennon perceived as the failure of the 'Flower Power' movement in the years prior. It was a significant move for arguably the most famous singer of all time. Lennon turned his back on what could have been an enviable life as part of high society and instead invested his energy and money in ensuring the youth of America didn't become apathetic in the quest for non-violence and equality. "I'm happy as Larry," Lennon said at the time. "I feel like a student again. We're like a young married couple." One To One: John and Yoko is a fascinating, fast-paced collage of old footage and taped phone conversations that take us inside the couples' movements at this time. The phone calls are particularly compelling as we hear the couple scheming, cycling through a variety of causes, seemingly aching for places they can lend their celebrity clout to raise awareness. There are a few recurring narratives throughout that keep us engrossed. One of them involves capturing thousands of live flies for a Yoko Ono art exhibit, another sees them convince infamous Bob Dylan stalker A. J. Weberman to back off his target, while there are chilling moments where Lennon — who was shot dead in 1980 — ruminates about becoming a target when appearing at key demonstrations. Another through line revolves around the only full-length concert John Lennon gave after The Beatles's split and before his death. The concert, which happened across two sessions at Madison Square Garden in 1972, was a benefit for the children of the Willowbrook School — an institution caring for children with intellectual disabilities. Footage from the show is great, but even more interesting is learning how the couple arrived at the idea to play the show. Because there are so many individual examples of John and Yoko's activism, it makes for a fast-paced video diary with a frenetic energy that perhaps speaks to the couple's own chaotic momentum. "I thought: There's enough here that we could just let them speak for themselves, allow the audience to eavesdrop on them and allow that to be part of the fun of the film," director Kevin Macdonald said in publicity materials around the film. "I think that's much more interesting than a traditional biopic, where the filmmakers are trying to present a very coherent version of things. As we all know, life is chaotic and contradictory." Even if your interest in John and Yoko themselves is negligible, the film will still offer a captivating snapshot of the social and political climate of the time. Whether it's Carole Feraci's protest against Richard Nixon, the railing against inhumane conditions at Attica State prison, or the case of poet John Sinclair, who was jailed for 10 years for cannabis possession, the film covers plenty of historical moments that paint a riveting picture of the counterculture of the time. And people with a love for old New York City will revel in the way the film plops us right in that space and time. The treatment of Yoko Ono by Lennon's adoring fans and even his Beatles band mates is laid bare in some confronting conversations, where the artist bluntly recounts the comments and violence she'd been subjected to. Speaking of violence, Lennon's past behaviours are only vaguely hinted at. The takeaway message is that the John Lennon of the early 70s was a more enlightened man than the one who grew up scrapping in Liverpool and was violent towards his first wife, Cynthia, in the 1960s. "I fell in love with an independent, eloquent, outspoken, creative genius," Lennon says at one point. "I started waking up." While there may be a touch of hagiography about One To One, it's a rare example of a John Lennon documentary that offers something many fans might not have seen or even known about before. As far as history lessons go, it's totally compelling. As we learned in the eight-hour 2021 documentary Get Back, which took us inside the recording of The Beatles's final album, being a fly on the wall for historical moments is a captivating prospect. This film moves far quicker, but the same idea applies: we're always shown what John and Yoko do rather than merely told about it. "Very early on, I decided I wasn't going to try and chase old men on their deathbeds to get their last John Lennon anecdote — which they've probably told before," director Macdonald said. One To One: John & Yoko is a truly intimate capture of what drove this couple at a key point in their life, and how their very presence at this key moment had an impact on the countercultural movement of the time. One To One: John & Yoko screens at the Sydney Film Festival this weekend.
The Guardian
16-05-2025
- The Guardian
‘He left an incredible mark': how a festival organiser's murder galvanised Venice's underground music scene
As you enter the Centro Sociale Rivolta, a former confectionary factory in the industrial neighbourhood of Marghera in Venice that has been occupied by squatters for the last 30 years, a large banner spells out two words: 'Jack lives'. More than 2,000 people will see the banner this weekend when they arrive at Venezia Hardcore, a festival that began in a rehearsal room among friends and has become one of the most important counterculture events in Europe. This year's event will feature Jivebomb's furious hardcore from the US, Violent Magic Orchestra's techno black metal from Japan, and Italian bands such as cult screamo outfit La Quiete, political street punk four-piece Klasse Kriminale and local heroes Confine. But the star of the festival will stand out due to his absence: 2025 will be the first edition of Venezia Hardcore without Giacomo 'Jack' Gobbato, a musician and activist who was stabbed to death in September by a robber who had attacked a woman Gobbato was trying to defend. Gobbato, 26 at the time of his death, was part of the Venezia Hardcore crew, but also an activist, linked to Rivolta, another occupied space in the centre of Mestre, Venice. His death shocked the city. The following week, on 28 September, more than 10,000 people took to the streets of Mestre to pay homage to him. Posters by Zerocalcare, a beloved Italian cartoonist with close ties to social movements, hung on every corner as tribute. Noisy punk songs blasted from speakers while his friends waved giant banners of Gobbato stage-diving. The march was motivated by the desire to show another face of a city that is increasingly linked with robberies, violent assaults and a growing drug problem. With more than 50 deaths in the last eight years, Venice is one of the Italian cities with the highest number of fatalities from heroin overdoses in recent years, alongside Rome. The city's current administration had mostly tried to counteract this with heavier policing, asking the government for the intervention of the army and only returning to invest in social services a couple of years ago. 'It's sad to know you were right, when the consequences hit you like this,' says Sebastiano Bergamaschi, 26, who was with his friend Gobbato the night he was killed. The attacker stabbed both of them. Bergamaschi survived with injuries to his legs, Gobbato died during the night. As an activist, Bergamaschi has dedicated himself to rebuilding the disappearing social fabric of Venice. Gobbato was an important part of that effort, he says. 'Music, activism, tattoos, the environment: Jack had many families,' Bergamaschi observes. 'And he always had the ability to unite them. He left an incredible mark on the festival and with us he wanted to share a dream, a project, a way of practising it.' Since Gobbato's death, other initiatives have been formed. The emotional impact of the march brought many people closer to the young activists. Giorgia Gilli, 34, became part of the group of activists in October, taking part in night outings to deliver blankets and hot drinks to people sleeping on the streets during the winter. 'It would have been impossible for me to go home and pretend nothing had happened,' she reflects. 'It was a necessity.' As a passionate music lover, she is now part of Rec Out, a project started by Gobbato himself: a low-cost professional recording studio open to anyone, where dozens of rap, trap, punk and metal musicians have already passed through. The space, inside the squat, also offers a first stage to young artists and the team creates video interviews with guests, to create an open community among musicians and fans. Filippo Lunian, 29, who knew Gobbato since high school, realised a number of musical initiatives with him. 'You feel the need to do it,' Lunian says. 'To be there, to represent an alternative to how the everyday world is.' Despite moments of discouragement, Gobbato's friends have continued to propose ideas for months. 'The best thing we can do is give our contribution,' Sebastiano adds. 'You are doing it to change the life of the people around you.' 'United we win,' the festival crew wrote in a post dedicated to Gobbato. Gilli offers the perfect metaphor: 'It's like a moshpit: if you fall, I'll help you get up. I'll lift you up in stage diving and I'll pick you up if you're down. I'm always there, we're all in this together. That's what it means to have a community that supports you.' The festival crew thinks the same. 'I met him because I noticed this guy at our concerts who always jumped off the stage,' remembers Samall Ali, musician and co-founder of the festival. 'We bonded a lot, he was really full of life.' After Gobbato's murder, there was no doubt that he had to play a role in the next edition of the festival. 'I keep thinking: 'What role do I want to play in this story? What do we do know?' I think there is a lot to do. And we will do our part. Jack lit a fuse, in many of us, too. We'll do the festival for him.' Venezia Hardcore runs from 16-17 May
Times
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Karen Durbin obituary: editor of New York's Village Voice
In New York literary circles Karen Durbin was famous for her baroque monologues — great, breathless treatises that could leave her audience (or staff) stunned. When she was appointed editor of the counterculture magazine Village Voice in 1994, her predecessor told her: 'It's crucial to the job to listen'. An influential feminist commentator, it was fortunate she usually had something to say. 'Words like 'paradigmatic' and references to de Tocqueville are apt to appear in her monologues without the slightest warning,' wrote William Glaberson in a 1994 New York Times profile. 'And evidence of the active mind of a lifelong reader often pops out between puffs of the slim cigarettes she knows she smokes too often.' Invariably described as a whirlwind, a force and a
