About
Trailer
Story
Life in Three Voices is a documentary that follows Ensemble Adilei and the Chamgeliani sisters, both on tour in the US, and in their native Georgia.
Shot in multiple locations in both countries, this film is about discovery, community, friendship, and above all else, an incredible vocal polyphonic tradition that brings together the most unlikely combinations of people from all around the world.
2020, 38’
Director: Marina Kaganova
Camera: Leo Decristoforo
Editing: Leo Decristoforo
Production: Marina Kaganova
Sound Design: Laurel MacDonald, Phil Strong
Music: Adilei, Chamgeliani Sisters
Starring
Adilei
Ensemble Adilei performs traditional Georgian polyphonic songs and chants.
For the members of Adilei singing is the primary mode of communication with the world: it is more of a lifestyle than a performance practice and is not just relegated to official concerts.
They sing every time they gather, wherever that may be.
Chamgeliani Sisters
Sisters Ana and Madona Chamgeliani come from a long lineage of singers from the mountainous province of Svaneti.
These women are not only great singers, but also possess deep knowledge of the contexts and traditions that surround the songs they perform.
Filmmakers
Marina Kaganova
Marina is an anthropologist and writer from Brooklyn, NY.
She holds graduate degrees in both from Columbia University, and currently teaches at CUNY York College.
Her creative and scholarly work has been published in Catapult, Ulbandus, Failbetter, Caucasus All Frequency, Paperbag, and The St. Ann’s Review, among others.
She occasionally sings in several folk groups, and wrote her Doctoral Dissertation on Georgian polyphonic practices, having lived in Georgia for two years while doing her fieldwork.
Leo Decristoforo
Born in Vienna and raised in Bratislava (Slovakia) and Tyrol (Austria), Leo Decristoforo studied cinematography at the International Film School Cologne under Prof. David Slama, as well as at the filmacademy in Prague (FAMU).
Leo’s filmography includes amongst others two music-based documentaries: The Laughing Shoes (2014) and Listen To Me (2016). He has shot in Pakistan, America, and in several European countries.
His work has had theatrical releases in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic, and has been screened at multiple international festivals.