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OUT NOW ON DVD—AT LAST! My Grandmother—a silent film by Soviet Georgian director Kote Mikaberidze made in 1929 and banned by the Soviet regime for 40 years—is finally available on DVD. Beth Custer has coupled this amazing film with her own score (performed by the Beth Custer Ensemble and special guests). Hans Wendl produced the soundtrack and Jeff Cressman recorded it. The DVD has Russian intertitles with narration in English and a few words shadowing in Georgian. Forgotten for a half-century, Kote Mikaberidze's MY GRANDMOTHER (CHEMI BEBIA/1929) is a delightful example of the Soviet Eccentric Cinema movement as well as an irreverent satire of the then still-young Soviet State system. Noted for its anarchic styles—which include stop-motion, puppetry, exaggerated camera angles, animation and constructivist sets—the film unspools the foibles and follies that abound when a Georgian paper pusher, modeled after American silent comic Harold Lloyd, loses his job. Beth Custer created a quick-paced pastiche of American jazz and blues, contemporary classical, and world folk music. The Beth Custer Ensemble features guitarist David James (The Coup, Spearhead), drummer Jan Jackson on drums, (Will Bernard Motherbug), bassist Mark Calderon (members of The Meters) with special guests trumpeter Chris Grady on trumpet and percussion (Tom Waits, Jewel), Jessica Ivry on cello (Real Vocal String Quartet), and Dina Maccabee on violin (Vienna Teng). Nils Frykdahl (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum) narrates the film's intertitles. When performances occur in countries outside of the US, BCE uses an actor from the region to narrate the film's intertitles in the language of that region. The score was originally commissioned by the Pacific Film Archive and recorded with an Aaron Copland Recording Fund award. The '07 Euro/Russia tour is partially being funded by a Trust for Mutual Understanding award and a Mid Atlantic Arts grant. Also Known As: MOYA BABUSHKA, CHEMI BEBIA (1929) (Soviet Union: Russian title) see other projects |
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