Taking Down the Tower (work in progress)

TAKING DOWN THE TOWER is a non-fiction, 16mm film exploring the architectural spaces of former states hospitals. The film is a reflection on America’s complicated past of treating the mentally ill, beginning in the late 1800s when these state run facilities were construction and opened.

During the 1970s, state hospitals were systematically closed across the US. Many of these campuses feature dozens of buildings that were left shuttered and largely allowed to sit intact and vacant for decades. Housed inside are hints of their former inhabitants and forgotten lives found amongst fogged mirrors, crumbling paint, and rusting bed frames.

Imagery of these crumbling monolithic structures contrasts with text from historic psychiatric sources and documents found while filming. Soundscapes echoing the past inhabitants of day rooms, medical equipment, and discarded objects conjure an imagined past that inexplicably continues to exist in the present moment.

This film is currently in its editing phase.