In 1976, the creator of Woodstock tries to relaunch the legend in the south of France. A dream lineup, American-scale ambitions, and a festival meant to make history—until chaos, backstage tensions, and the mafia bring everything down. Buried for decades, hundreds of hours of unseen footage finally resurface to tell the story of the Woodstock that was never meant to exist.
This film tells the incredible story of this “Woodstock in Provence,” organized in the heart of the summer of 1976 by the promoters of the legendary Woodstock 1969.
After weeks of investigation, we uncovered hundreds of hours of footage revealing the story of a festival that New York–based organizers, certain artists, and the mafia would ultimately help to sabotage…
The story is little known, almost erased. Summer 1976: Michael Lang, the creator of the mythical Woodstock in 1969, arrives on the French Riviera with a wild idea—to recreate the legendary festival in Provence, in Le Castellet: Riviera ’76.
For three days, hippies, rock stars, and shadowy figures from the mafia cross paths in a hallucinatory setting. A dizzying lineup—Joe Cocker, Gil Scott-Heron, Jimmy Cliff, John McLaughlin & Shakti, Magma, Betty Davis—supported by an impressive technical setup imported from the United States and the UK. The organizers bet on the arrival of 100,000 festivalgoers, the production of a feature film, and a live album to secure the event’s place in the history of pop culture.
But the promised legend turns into a mirage. Amid chaotic organization, backstage tensions, and mobsters lying in wait, Riviera ’76 vanishes almost as soon as it happens. A failure… yet for those who were there, a moment forever etched in their memory.
Fifty years later, hundreds of 16mm film reels and dozens of hours of sound recordings, unearthed from a cellar, resurface. Why was the film never completed? What became of the players in this ill-fated event? What performances unfolded over those three days of gathering?
These never-before-seen archives, combined with testimonies from artists, technicians, and festivalgoers, finally reveal the forgotten story: that of an extraordinary festival, a missing link between Woodstock and the rise of modern large-scale music gatherings.
