Duties of My Heart

Duties of My Heart is an experimental short film that emerged from my studies at CalArts and a serendipitous introduction to the world of sign language. Originally conceived as the final scene for a longer work, this film evolved into a standalone piece that explores the intersection of poetry, sign language, and dance. The film was initially released in 1997 and remastered in 2024.

The project's genesis came from a life-changing visit to TRIPOD, a preschool for deaf children, which inspired me to expand sign language into dance choreography. Working with an interpreter, I began translating the poem into sign Language, not realizing I was approaching the process backwards.

It wasn't until I met Terrylene Sacchetti, a remarkable Deaf artist, poet, and educator featured in the film, that I understood the true nature of American Sign Language (ASL) and ASL poetry. Terrylene opened my eyes to ASL as a three-dimensional language, distinct from signed English. In ASL poetry, rhymes are measured in hand shapes, meter in movements, and verses transcend spoken word entirely.

The film presents three parallel poems:

The original written text

The ASL translation

A choreographic fusion of sign and dance

The dance sequences were filmed at the historic Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, a location rich with cultural significance as the site where Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated. At the same time, I was also working with experimental filmmaker Pat O'Neill on his landmark film "The Decay of Fiction." Pat taught me to see empty spaces, light, and architecture as characters, which significantly influenced my approach to filming Duties of My Heart.

The loose narrative pays homage to Maya Deren and early experimental filmmakers of the 1940s. It follows a protagonist imagining the poem through movement rather than written words.

The poem itself is by Barbara Barg, a prominent figure in New York City's downtown poetry and music scene from the 1970s to the 1990s. Barg co-founded the all-women cult band "Homer Erotic" and was on faculty at the Chicago School of Poetics.

Duties of My Heart represents a pivotal moment in my filmmaking journey, bridging my experimental film background with my growing fascination with deaf culture and ASL. This exploration laid the groundwork for my later work, including Deaf Jam, and continues to influence my approach to visual storytelling and language.