Hot Docs 2008

This vanguard concert film is an explosive portrayal of the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival at the height of the Summer of Love. Monterey launched the careers of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Otis Redding and ushered in a new era of rock 'n' roll. Other performances by artists like Simon and Garfunkel, The Mamas and the Papas, The Who and the extraordinary Ravi Shankar are vividly captured by both Ricky Leacock and Al Maysles, who were camera operators. Monterey was part of a cultural revolution, and Pennebaker wanted to use similar cinematic techniques to capture that reality. Driven by direct cinema sensibility and influenced by the French New Wave, Pennebaker approached the film with the same adventurous spirit as the concert organizers and the artists themselves. Thus, the film immortalizes moments like Pete Townshend destroying his guitar and Hendrix burning his. Monterey Pop lives up to its legendary status, making it as timeless as it is powerful.
-Shannon Abel