KINGS PARK: Stories from an American Mental Institution Screening

NYWIFT/HSBC Screening Series Kings Park: Stories from an American Mental Institution  Event: Tuesday May 22, 2012 Join us for a free advanced screening of the documentary Kings Park: Stories from an American Mental Institution, directed and produced by Lucy Winer. After the screening, stay for a Q&A with director/producer Winer, producer Karen Eaton, senior associate producer Rachel Farmer, cinematographer Claudia Raschke-Robinson, composer Elliot Sokolov, sound designer and mixer Jon Smith, and sound recordist Jim Anderson. Kings Park On June 21, 1967, at the age of seventeen, Lucy Winer was committed to the female violent ward of Kings Park State Hospital following a series of failed suicide attempts. Over 30 years later, now an award-winning, veteran documentary filmmaker, Lucy returns to Kings Park for the first time since her discharge. Her journey back sparks a decade-long odyssey to confront her past and learn the story of the now-abandoned institution that once held her captive. Her meetings with other former patients, their families, and the hospital staff reveal the painful legacy of our state hospital system and the crisis left by its demise. Following its recent sold-out premiere at the Woodstock International film Festival, Stewart Nusbaumer at Filmmaker Magazine had this to say about Kings Park: “When the credits ended and the house lights came on the audience sat in stunned silence. After a few seconds there was a scattered applause, which grew into a thunderous roar. Kings Park is an extraordinarily powerful film—or three films—superbly tiered with each poignant and insightful.” Lucy Winer Committed throughout her 30 year career to issues of social concern, Lucy Winer's credits include Greetings from Washington D.C., an impressionistic look at the First National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights; Rate It X, a critically-acclaimed documentary feature about sexism in America; Silent Pioneers, the first of its kind documentary about lesbian and gay seniors; Positive: Life with HIV, a groundbreaking, four-part public television series; and Golden Threads, an ITVS-funded documentary about the unforgettable 93-year-old lesbian activist and organizer Christine Burton. Winer’s work has been distributed theatrically in the U.S. and overseas, and broadcast nationally on PBS and cable. Her work has been called “intriguing, often hair-raising” by The New York Times; “warm, witty and genuinely touching” by The Los Angeles Times; “immensely affecting” by The Village Voice; “hilarious” by The Hollywood Reporter; and “produced with humor, insight and irony” by Variety. Her films have been featured at numerous festivals, including Sundance, Berlin, Toronto, and London, and screened at the American Film Institute theaters in L.A. and D.C., the Walker Art Institute, the Museum of Modern Art and the New Museum. Her awards include Outstanding Film of the Year from the London Film Festival, a Golden Plaque from the Chicago International Film Festival, a Golden Athena from the Athens International Film Festival, a CINE Golden Eagle, and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Picture.  NYWIFT programs, screenings and events are made possible, in part, by public funds from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, New York State Council on the Arts, the New York State Legislature and Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences Foundation.

Event Information NYWIFT/HSBC screening series King Park: Stories from an American Mental Institution Date/Time: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 6:30 PM Pricing: Free for NYWIFT members RSVP online Location: Norwood Club 241 West 14th Street