Palm Springs International Film Festival 2026 – World Premiere Review
Showtimes
Festival Theaters 6 – 9:30 AM – Reserve Now
By Valerie Milano
Palm Springs, CA (The Hollywood Times) 1/7/26 – At the 2026 Palm Springs International Film Festival, few films arrive with the emotional resonance, historical weight, and unapologetic honesty of Elvis, Rocky and Me: The Carol Connors Story. Directed by Alex Rotaru and produced by Dahlia Haymon and Chip Rosenbloom, the 75-minute documentary is both an intimate character study and a sweeping portrait of American music history, told through the singular life of Carol Connors.
From the opening frames, the film establishes its thesis clearly: this is not merely a nostalgic stroll through pop culture, but a reclamation of legacy. Connors’ journey, from teenage stardom as the voice of The Teddy Bears to Oscar-nominated songwriter and cultural trailblazer, unfolds with refreshing candor. As Connors herself says in the film, “Don’t whitewash me. That’s not the truth.” The filmmakers honor that request, allowing contradictions, triumphs, and hard truths to coexist.
Producer Dalia Haymon emphasizes that the film’s emotional balance was intentional from the start. “When you’re approaching film as a producer, obviously, you’re trying to balance the finances and the potential marketability,” she explains, “but you also want to respect the art and the artist.” Viewing Connors’ life through director Alex Rotaru’s lens, Haymon says the goal was clear: “To allow Carol to be fully herself. She is magnetic and a star—and also vulnerable.”
That vulnerability is never exploited. The film’s restraint, Haymon notes, was essential. “I actually think the things that touch people’s hearts are gentler, more human stories,” she says. “Approaching difficult chapters earnestly, without sensationalizing them, is something every artist should try to do.”
Click below for our exclusive interview.
Director Alex Rotaru approached the documentary with one non-negotiable principle: authenticity. “Carol said to me, ‘Don’t whitewash me,’” he recalls. “And I told her I had no intention of doing that.” For Rotaru, transparency wasn’t just an ethical choice, it was essential to making the film compelling. “Audiences are much smarter than we give them credit for,” he says. “The only thing that makes a documentary interesting is absolute honesty.”
Rotaru’s connection to Connors deepened as filming progressed, rooted in a shared wit and love of language. “I realized immediately I had a kindred spirit,” he says. “She has this enormous power, she does things her way, always. Watching how she broke through the glass ceiling without walking on broken glass changed me.” He admits that while he never set out to make a feminist film, “I became one by watching her life.”
Connors’ imprint on music is staggering. She co-wrote the indelible “Gonna Fly Now” from Rocky, a song that has become shorthand for perseverance itself, and the timeless ballad “With You I’m Born Again.” Yet Elvis, Rocky and Me is most compelling when it moves behind the curtain, revealing the resilience required for a woman to survive, let alone thrive, in a male-dominated industry.
The documentary does not shy away from Connors’ complex professional relationship with Phil Spector. In one of the film’s most searing passages, Connors reflects on his duality: “As a man of music, Phil Spector was a hundred plus. As a human being, he was a minus zero.” Rather than sensationalizing, the film contextualizes his influence, both creative and destructive, while centering Connors’ refusal to be silenced or sidelined.
Haymon offers further context to the film’s nuanced treatment of Spector, acknowledging his complicated legacy without allowing it to eclipse Connors’ agency. “Phil was there at the inception of Carol’s career,” she says. “We call him ‘the key.’ He didn’t open the door; Carol had to step through it herself. He just unlocked it.” Haymon adds that while society often focuses solely on the worst aspects of influential figures, “it’s impossible to erase their impact on culture. If you reject the bad but embrace the good, that’s when you’re left with something meaningful.”
For Haymon, the film’s ultimate takeaway, especially for women, is best expressed in Connors’ own words. “Carol once told me, ‘I didn’t think of myself as a man or a woman. I just thought about what I wanted to do, and I did it,’” she says. “That’s the message. If you have a dream, pursue it. Don’t worry about what other people think.”
Both filmmakers are already looking ahead. Haymon is developing multiple projects, including another documentary currently seeking distribution, while Rotaru continues his exploration of powerful women across disciplines. “For now,” he jokes, “I only seem to make films about divas.”
The emotional heart of the film, and of its Palm Springs premiere, arrives with Connors’ song “You Loved My Night Away,” written in a single night on August 16, 1977, the day Elvis Presley died. Connors describes composing the song as a spiritual experience, believing Elvis’ presence guided the music and lyrics.
In a first for PSIFF history, Connors performs the song live following the January 3 screening, just before the Q&A. The moment is profound: a living bridge between personal grief and collective memory. Having recently received a standing ovation performing the song at Graceland, Connors brings that same quiet power to Palm Springs, transforming the premiere into something closer to a communal ritual than a traditional screening.
Asked what surprised him most once filming began, Rotaru laughs. “Nothing surprises me about Carol, because I expect to be surprised every moment, I’m with her.” That unpredictability, he says, is part of her enduring force. “She doesn’t take yes or no for an answer. She provides her own answer to every question.”
Throughout the film, Connors offers hard-earned wisdom to the next generation of artists. “Believe in yourself. Protect your publishing. Don’t let anyone bastardize your words or your music,” she advises. Another line lands like a thesis statement for her life: “Success has many fathers. Failure is an orphan.”
What emerges is not simply admiration but understanding. Connors never frames herself as a victim nor a saint. Instead, she presents herself as a working artist, still dreaming, still creating, still insisting on relevance. As she reflects in the film, “People want you to become irrelevant at a certain age. I don’t accept that.”
Featuring appearances by Talia Shire, Mike Tyson, Diane Warren, Dionne Warwick, and others, Elvis, Rocky and Me situates Connors within a broader cultural constellation, while never losing sight of the woman at its center.
It is fitting that this film finds its world premiere at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, a festival Connors has attended since its earliest days, founded by Sonny Bono. “To come back now with my own life story,” she says, “is a dream come true.” Her father’s words echo throughout the film: Dream on, little girl. And indeed, she did and still does.
Elvis, Rocky and Me: The Carol Connors Story is a deeply moving, sharply honest documentary that honors not just a legendary career, but the courage it took to build it. For audiences who think they know the stories behind the songs, this film offers revelation, context, and heart. For everyone else, it’s an unforgettable reminder that behind every anthem is a human being who refused to stop dreaming.
Here is an interview we had with Carol Connors about Elvis, Rocky and Me: The Carol Connors Story. Enjoy:
Screenings
World Premiere: January 3, 2026 — 7:30 PM
Encore Screening: January 4, 2026 — 10:30 AM
Festival Theaters, Palm Springs
This review is presented by The Hollywood Times as part of our coverage of the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
