THE NEUROTIC VS. THE SCHIZOPHRENIC by Garrick Givens | USA (2024)
A poetry film that outlines the nuanced relation between the non-mentally ill (neurotic) and mentally ill (schizophrenic).
Director statement
This film is just as much a poetry film as it is a diary film, and even an essay film. I felt it appropriate to address my inner thoughts and feelings about the challenges that arise living with schizoaffective disorder.
The film utilizes the voiceover technique to illustrate the dual relation of the neurotic and the schizophrenic. (It can be noted these terms are used as referenced in Deleuze & Guattari’s philosophical text, “Anti-Oedipus”, and are not meant to be interpreted in a pejorative manner).
The stylistic elements such as the handheld camera movement, and experimental animations, abstractly represents the subject/object relation between the neurotic and the schizophrenic. The film utilizes “Live” photography to create these subtle moving images.
Overall, the film’s main objective is to reduce stigma for mental illness and convert the negative power these labels intend to bring into feelings of love and positivity.
Bio
Avant-garde video-maker, intermedia artist and film theorist (Givens) grew up in Farmington Hills, MI USA; born 1/3/1992.
Givens, a lifelong learner of Cinema has enjoyed theatre since attending summer camps as a child at the Marquis Theatre in downtown Northville, MI. In seventh grade, Givens came to terms with her gender identity but kept it a secret until the age of 25.
In 2014, Givens graduated from Binghamton University with Honors in Cinema and was the Ken Jacobs Scholarship recipient.
Givens has garnered recent success with her film “Agility (..or something like it)” which was Winner of Best Experimental Film at the Ideal International Film Festival (India) 2023 and Best Experimental Short Film at the Bettiah International Film Festival (India) 2024.
Pebbles Underground is focused on showcasing and promoting experimental, avant-garde, underground, and no-to-low budget projects by artist-humans from all over the world. Absurd, uncanny, witty, humorous, slow-video – all are welcomed, and loved.
Pebbles Underground is an independent project not funded by any government or corporation, and we intend to keep it that way. Main source of funding is personal donations from humans organizing the project, who are artists themselves, and the main drive of the project is formed by the energy and involvement of the organizers, and the public.
