"I Love Ya! Goodbye!" Robin's Grad Film Fundraiser

I am coming to the end of my year at InFocus Film School. And, I am so grateful that my script, "I Love Ya! Goodbye!" was selected as one of my class's graduating films - and I am doubly grateful that I was selected to direct!

We are excited to be filming December 15th-19th. The program includes work on producing and fundraising and, we are looking for the financial support to bring this ambitious script to life! Anything and everything helps!

"I Love Ya! Goodbye!" is based on the story of my uncle's life and death, told largely through my family's memories. My uncle made a huge impact on me as a child - and his love of music, art, science, and philosophy has always stuck with me.

 

When I was four years old, he was on his deathbed succumbing to Hepatitis C after a lifelong struggle with addiction and mental health, including a rare kind of schizophrenia. When I went up to tell him I loved him and to say goodbye, he miraculously came back to life. This lasted several weeks and allowed my family precious time to spend with him and come to terms with his looming death and past struggles with mental health.

 

When my uncle was a young man, he tragically killed his landlady during a psychotic breakdown. He was deemed incapable of making the autonomous choices necessary to be held criminally responsible and found "not guilty by reason of insanity". He spent the rest of his life institutionalized, opting to continue living in intensive care even after he was told he could leave. My family always stuck by him while coming to terms with this grotesque act of violence.

 

By the time I was born, my uncle had done a lot of work to reconcile his past and make amends. As a child, I didn't know him as an addict or murderer but as a funny, talented, wise, and loving uncle who meditated and played the guitar. 

As I grew older and learned more of the full story, I didn't know how to talk about it - or how to address the intense stigma around it. When the answers aren't black and white, it can feel uncomfortable.

As I've been working through my year at film school, I have been bombarded by films about "crazy people" who exist more as over-the-top villains and tragic plot devices than complex expressions of humanity. As someone who has both struggled with my mental health and cared for loved-ones who were struggling, I believe that it's incredibly important to explore grounded depictions of neurodiversity looking to both the highs and the lows, the ugly and the beautiful.  

I believe that there is something powerful about seeing mental illness through the lens of a supportive family, doing their best against incredible odds; just as there is something powerful about seeing death without baggage, through the eyes of someone who is at the beginning of their own life. "I Love Ya! Goodbye!" works to explore where these two ideas intercept. 

I feel so incredibly lucky to have this opportunity to create this film.

Thank you for taking the time to read about my film. I really appreciate all donations, large and small! 

Now, let's create some art!