Anna & Elizabeth - "Jeano" (Short Film)

This short film is a visual and sonic exploration of an American folk song, "Jeano," performed here by Anna & Elizabeth.

Circling around two figures - a New England housewife, the wisher, and a character in a mythical waiting space who collects all the wishes - the film considers the potential power in the wishes of those left behind at home when others are off at war. It is an imaginative exploration into how we engage with the dreams of the past, and the thresholds that bridge time and space.

"Jeano and Jeanette" was sung in 1941 by Margaret Shipman in her kitchen in Lee, MA. In 2018, the duo Anna & Elizabeth found the recording of Margaret's singing and made a new arrangement of the song for their own record. Interpreting the song through a different medium, this film deconstructs that same source material that has been passed across generations, meditating on its contents, and communicating its meaning in a new way.

Directed by Peter Coccoma
Conceived in collaboration with Anna Roberts-Gevalt
Director of Photography: Alex Munro
Gaffer: John Ward
Operator: Drew English
AC: Lucas Hrabal
Set: Michael Hili
Edit: Peter Coccoma
Color by Andrew Francis at Technicolor
Music by Anna & Elizabeth
Additional Music and Sound Design by Peter Coccoma and Anna Roberts-Gevalt
Sound Mix by Zubin Hensler

Made with support from Smithsonian Folkways.

Thank you to the Hancock Shaker Museum and Jerid Gooding for location support.

Stream/download/purchase:
Smithsonian Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu/anna-and-eliz...
Bandcamp: https://annaandelizabeth.bandcamp.com...

Anna & Elizabeth’s 'The Invisible Comes to Us' taps into their imagination-fueled arsenal to present an extraordinary work of unique, genre-bending storytelling and sonic exploration. Lauded by many well-known musicians and widely loved for their moving minimalist arrangements, Anna & Elizabeth’s partnership pioneers new ways of presenting old songs and stories to modern audiences. Co-producer Benjamin Lazar Davis (Cuddle Magic) and legendary avant-rock drummer Jim White (The Dirty Three, Xylouris White) assist in the duo’s vision of breathing life and new perspective into the crackling and disintegrating recordings and artifacts of the past. Rarely does an album based on traditional folk music resonate so strongly in modern times.

Anna & Elizabeth: http://www.annaandelizabeth.com
Facebook:   / annaandelizabeth  
Instagram:   / annaandelizabeth  

Smithsonian Folkways: http://www.folkways.si.edu
Twitter:   / folkways  
Facebook:   / smithsonianfolkwaysrecordings  
Instagram:   / smithsonianfolkways  

The content and comments posted here are subject to the Smithsonian Institution copyright and privacy policy (www.si.edu/copyright). Smithsonian reserves the right in its sole discretion to remove any content at any time.