One to One: John & Yoko

Through never-before-seen material and newly restored footage, a tumultuous 18-month period of iconic couple John Lennon and Yoko Ono's time in New York comes to vivid life.

A year and a bit in the life of superstar couple John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who flee London and take up residence in a small two-bedroom apartment in New York's West Village at the beginning of the 70s. Joining in with the surrounding counterculture movement, the pair tuned in and dropped out, while the television at the foot of their bed became a portal into the chaotic world around them. Made up entirely of little-seen archival footage, rare audio recordings and excerpts from John Lennon's only solo concert post-Beatles, the film becomes a fascinating snapshot of artists in flux and a portal into a world in freefall.

Curator's note
Directors Kevin Macdonald and Sam Rice-Edwards find fresh pathways into the life of one of the most documented and venerated celebrity couples. Using their social activism as a throughline, we trace the pair's involvement in happenings such as the 'Free the People' tour. This was followed quickly by a festival in Madison Square Garden, initiated to bring to light the appalling mistreatment of disabled children at Willowbrook school in Staten Island. Through this lens the film becomes a vivid document of a moment in time where music, culture and politics converged.