TRIBECA TALKS AT HOME: OLIVER SACKS

Double Feature of AWAKENINGS and OLIVER SACKS: HIS OWN LIFE

Celebrating 30th anniversary of Awakenings, and the life of Oliver Sacks



In honor of the 30th anniversary of 1990’s AWAKENINGS and in celebration of late legendary neurologist Oliver Sacks, Tribeca Talks At Home is delivering a must-see double feature: Penny Marshall's AWAKENINGS, based on Oliver Sacks' novel and starring Robert De Niro and Robin William; and OLIVER SACKS: HIS OWN LIFE, Ric Burns' moving documentary about the life and legacy of the famed neurologist.

On Monday, December 28 beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST, Tribeca Talks At Home will mark the 30th anniversary of the film AWAKENINGS with a conversation with Robert De Niro (who played the lead role of Leonard Lowe), Kate Edgar (Oliver Sack’s long-time editor, friend and colleague), Walter Parkes (the film’s producer), and Ric Burns (the director of the new documentary, OLIVER SACKS: HIS OWN LIFE). De Niro was nominated for an Academy Award for his extraordinary performance as a man who is “awakened” after spending decades in a coma-like state. The conversation will go live at: https://www.tribecafilm.com/festival/tribeca-talks-at-home

These events are made possible in part by HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, a mission-driven production studio dedicated to sharing stories about science and scientists.

About AWAKENINGS

The story of a doctor's extraordinary work in the Sixties with a group of catatonic patients he finds languishing in a Bronx hospital. Speculating that their rigidity may be akin to an extreme form of Parkinsonism, he seeks permission from his skeptical superiors to treat them with L-dopa, a drug that was used to treat Parkinson's disease at the time.

About OLIVER SACKS: HIS OWN LIFE

Oliver Sacks: His Own Life explores the life and work of the legendary neurologist and storyteller, as he shares intimate details of his battles with drug addiction, homophobia, and a medical establishment that accepted his work only decades after the fact. Sacks, known for his literary works Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, was a fearless explorer of unknown cognitive worlds who helped redefine our understanding of the brain and mind, the diversity of human experience, and our shared humanity. The film features exclusive interviews with Sacks conducted just weeks after he received a terminal diagnosis, and months prior to his death in August 2015.