Join us on Thursday, January 16th at 6pm ET on Zoom for another installment of our Cinema Chats series!

Neurologist and author, Oliver Sacks, died of cancer in 2015 at the age of 82. For a long time, he was a traumatized, troubled man. This documentary, directed by Ric Burns, was finished shortly before his death. Sacks knew he was dying when he spoke about his life and work in Oliver Sacks: His Own Life (2019). A mix of archival footage, still imagery, talking-head interviews, and in-the-moment narrative, Oliver Sacks: His Own Life illuminates details of what can only be called an extraordinary existence. In the documentary, Sacks reflects on his battles with drug addiction, homophobia, and a medical establishment that refused to accept his work for decades. It also follows how the film drama Awakenings (1990), based on Sacks’s nonfiction book of the same name, mended his public persona and led to his acceptance by the medical establishment that once rejected him.

Join us with acclaimed movie reviewer and author Nell Minow and Cinema Chats moderator Lucy Shahar for a discussion about this award-winning biographical documentary.

We recommend you watch the film in advance of this lecture. Oliver Sacks: His Own Life can be streamed on Prime Video, Apple, and Google Play.

Please see the Zoom link in your order confirmation email. This program is entirely virtual.

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