Provence Fest Celebrates Music Through Film

The Provence Arts Festival du Film is set to host its second edition from July 29 to August 1, with a special focus on music and musical artists as explored through documentary cinema. This year's programming includes Baz Luhrmann's EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, featuring newly restored performances and rare audio recordings of Elvis Presley. The festival, renamed from the Dora Maar Film Festival, will also screen One to One: John & Yoko, directed by Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald.

The event will take place in the picturesque hilltop village of Ménerbes, situated in Provence's Luberon region. Festival director Lucy Darwin stated that music provides a rich field for documentary storytelling, revealing creative processes and shaping artistic expression. The program features a diverse range of films, from acclaimed classics to recent discoveries.

Additional films include Agnès Varda's Jane B. par Agnès V., which will open the festival, as well as documentaries on Marianne Faithfull, piano technicians, the Orchestre de Paris, Darius Brubeck, and the musician Rodriguez. Filmmakers and guests, including Kevin Macdonald and David Katznelson, will be in attendance for screenings and panel discussions, including one titled 'Beyond Biography: Who Gets to Tell an Artist's Story?'.

The festival aims to establish itself as a distinctive cultural event by exploring various artistic disciplines through documentary cinema in future editions. Past festivals have focused on different art forms, such as photography in its inaugural 2025 event.