LOCOMOTION, Anne Charlotte Robertson, 8:00, 1991
Literally, 2 Super-8 cassettes of performed insanity/ real rage against the psychiatric system/ hospitals. Impetus: course in Women and Film (teacher, Nancy Sugarman) at the Massachusetts College of Art, Boston. Other students and uninvited guests were performers, class handled camera and sound on second roll. First roll: fixed camera/lighting/sound. I went into another classroom before shooting, and "psyched myself up", imagining disasters...to work myself up again into paranoia and fear, such as I had experienced before and during the mental hell-holes called psychiatric hospitals 1978, 1979, 1980 (3 months each, where I resisted urged drugs, --the side-effects of which I exhibit in this film--some of those "side-effects" become permanent when drugs are taken in high dosages and/ or for a long time.)

This is an isolation cell in a crazy dark-bright blue film screening room: I marked the corner scene with chalk on the concrete blocks, as Muybridge marked his walls for his "Animal and Human Locomotion" studies.

Second roll, students (finally, teacher), took camera and shot film. All ideas for action and sound are my own, I am principal character, and director...and also much is my own improvisation.

I left "glitches"/ends of scenes, in. Life isn't slick. Mental illness: this is improvised in my film, but approximate sensation of breakdowns/ hospitalizations exists, raw.

This film expresses my rage against institutions. I am still afraid that they, or their representatives, or some other crazies, will kill me someday. I have had plenty of overdoses, in and out of the hospitals, I have met many threatening "shrinks" and health personnel. Are you similarly "loco"?

I am the Great Goddess. A Scottish- English- French- Canadian- Native- American- Gypsy married to God Zen Rom Allah Jesus! Diagnosed as bipolar with post-traumatic stress disorder, I still have a Master of Fine Arts in Film-making with Honors from Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, and have made 3 dozen films and videos. The longest, my diary, is over 40 hours long and a life-project since 1981. Super-8 and digital video are passions, so are organic gardening, weaving, and writing. Believe in Zen! He willl save you!

Yours, Anne Charlotte Robertson