The Parrish Art Museum will host screenings today and tomorrow of two very different documentaries, one inspired by Robin Williams’s struggle with Lewy body dementia, the other by the response of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company to the AIDS pandemic.
“SPARK: Robin Williams and His Battle With Lewy Body Dementia,” a 45-minute film created from the longer documentary “Robin’s Wish,” by the latter’s producers and the Lewy Body Dementia Association, will be shown today at 4 p.m.
The documentary highlights key messages that can enhance learning and understanding of Lewy body dementia and related illnesses, improve diagnosis and detection, and provide information for families about resources and support.
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion and question-and-answer session with Lauren Vlachos, the executive director and C.E.O. of Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center; Sharon Reichman, director of client services at the center, and Eric Spronz, medical director of East End Neuropsych, which focuses on geriatric neuropsychiatry and neurocognitive disorders.
The program is free, but advance registration is required.
In partnership with the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center, the museum will host Part II of its fifth annual Black Film Festival tomorrow at 6 p.m.
“Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters” (2020), a documentary by Rosalynde LeBlanc and Tom Hurwitz, traces the history and legacy of one of the most important works of art to emerge from the AIDS crisis.
The ballet “D-Man in the Waters” was created by Mr. Jones in 1989 to give physical manifestation to the fear, anger, grief, and hope that the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company felt during the pandemic. The film, set in the present day, begins in a dance studio as Ms. -LeBlanc, a former member of the dance company, begins to teach “D-Man in the Waters” to university-student dancers. As the dancers learn the material they emerge as individuals working to familiarize themselves with the choreography and understand the historical context in which the dance was created.
In his New York Times review, Glenn Kenny wrote, “The intercutting between vintage footage of the Jones/Zane company and the student production, as well as footage from another contemporary production of the piece . . . make for an unusually lively documentary experience.”
A post-screening discussion will happen at 7:45, with a reception following from 8 to 9. An optional museum tour with Corinne Erni, the museum’s chief curator, will precede the screening at 5.
Tickets are $20, $18 for senior citizens, $15 for members’ guests, $13 for museum members and friends of BHCCRC, free for students and children.
