After spending many years filming mostly in the circles of indie rock music, that I thought to be the center of the world at the time (...), it took me by surprise to discover local forms of musical expressions (so-called 'traditions') and the necessity of recording them appeared suddenly more urgent than any of those new bands that Pitchfork was focusing on. So I left my comfort zone (Paris, London, New York...) and traveled a lot, super DIY style with my backpack only over 5 years, allowing myself to easily record anywhere I would go. It was the birth of what I called the "Collection Petites Planètes" (a discreet homage to Chris Marker), a personal, chaotic, almost gonzo type of researches in music, far from the academic approaches in anthropology, closer probably to earlier loves for experimental, punk and improvised approaches in arts.
In this film, shot with my partner Priscilla Telmon in our favorite restaurant in Tbilisi, Georgia, we hear an old form of urban Georgian music, which is slightly different from the famous style of polyphonic chants Georgia is famous for, and who was at the time slowly getting forgotten. I love that sequence not only for the extraordinary vocal harmonies, but also for the background - you almost learn in 5 min how to cook a delicious khinkali. I like documentary filmmaking for the various levels of readings into reality - especially when all the making is completely improvised. That short is part of a larger research on Georgian music, available there - click here