Monterey Pop

The Monterey Pop Festival, held in California in 1967, marked a pivotal moment in the history of the American counterculture—it was the first rock festival of such magnitude and the dawn of the Summer of Love. Jimi Hendrix famously destroyed his guitar there, and Jefferson Airplane’s performance inspired Jean-Luc Godard to make a separate film dedicated to the band. The beginnings were not easy: bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Beach Boys refused to take part in the event. Using a 16mm camera and a sound recorder borrowed from the creators of “Wouldn’t It Be Nice?”, D.A. Pennebaker captured the spirit of a rebellious generation, with its magnetic icons in the foreground. The film’s rhythm, however, owes as much to the director’s inventive approach as to the energy of the performances themselves. It is not only a record of a musical era, but also of its audiovisual language. Here, one can see—and above all hear—Janis Joplin, The Who, Scott McKenzie, and Otis Redding, who died in a plane crash just six months later.

Julia Palmowska

D.A. Pennebaker (1925–2019) – American documentary filmmaker, one of the pioneers of direct cinema. He played a crucial role in the development of modern documentary filmmaking techniques. His films often combined political themes with popular culture, making him one of the most important chroniclers of the counterculture of the 1960s. Recipient of an Honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement.