Experiencing Interruptions?

The neurotic vs. the schizophrenic

A poetry film that outlines the nuanced relation between the non-mentally ill (neurotic) and mentally ill (schizophrenic).

  • Garrick Givens
    Director
  • Garrick Givens
    Writer
  • Garrick Givens
    Key Cast
    "Narrator"
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Short, Other
  • Genres:
    Experimental, Poetry, Mystery
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes 25 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 11, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Gjon Mili International Video Art Festival
    Korce, Korca
    Albania
    November 15, 2024
    European Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Pebbles Underground Film and Video Art Festival
    Toronto, ON
    Canada
    December 15, 2024
    North American Premiere
    Official Selection
  • NARFEST
    Ordu, Merkez
    Turkey
    May 1, 2025
    Turkish Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Garrick Givens

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.

Add Director Biography
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.