My Brother Lost in Time: A Bipolar Life Screening & Discussion

Buffalo Toronto Public Media and Crisis Services of Erie County invite you to join them on Wednesday, October 9 at 5:30 pm for a screening of the powerful short film, My Brother Lost in Time: A Bipolar Life, followed by a panel discussion.

ABOUT THE FILM

My Brother Lost in Time: A Bipolar Life is an original fifteen-minute documentary that tells the story of Paul Lukasik, a brilliant fifty-eight-year-old Buffalo resident who died in 2023 after decades of struggling with bipolar disorder. The film is narrated by his older brother, Dan Lukasik, a successful Buffalo attorney and nationally known mental health advocate. Celia Spacone, Ph.D., a psychologist and Director of the Suicide Awareness Coalition of Western New York, is also featured in the film to explain the disease of bipolar disorder, its symptoms and causes, and its effects on loved ones. The film is a collaboration between Dan Lukasik and an accomplished cinematographer, Mark A. Dellas, who has worked on several documentaries featured for PBS and appeared in film festivals.

MODERATOR

Jessica C. Pirro, President & CEO, Crisis Services of Erie County

Jessica C. Pirro has been with Crisis Services since January 1999. She has also held the title of Interim Executive Director and Associate Director. In addition, Jessica was the Advocate Program Coordinator, overseeing various crisis response services. Prior to her role at Crisis Services, Jessica was the Supervising Counselor at Més Que and an Owner of the establishment. She was also a Radio Talk Show Host at Voice America Talk Radio -WTR, LLC. Jessica holds a Master's degree in Social Work with a concentration in Health Care from Syracuse University and a Bachelor's degree in Child and Family Studies from the same institution.

PANELISTS

Daniel T. Lukasik, Esq., Producer

Dan Lukasik has been a lawyer for over thirty years and has served as the Judicial Wellness Coordinator for the New York State Office of Court Administration for the past five years. He is also an adjunct law professor at UB Law School and a national and local mental health educator and advocate. On his website, the Buffalo Depression Project, he blogs about mental health, posts about depression in the news, interviews local people living with depression, and provides both national and regional support resources.

Mark A. Dellas, Filmmaker

Mark Anthony Dellas is a cinematographer, editor, and post-production specialist with over ten years of experience on various short and long-form film and television programs. He's now worked on over 30 feature films and independent shorts. His cinematography and editing of the science documentary Fleeting Structure won awards at multiple international film festivals. He also served as an assistant camera on Ken Burns’ documentary “The American Buffalo” and Cinematographer on “First We Bombed New Mexico,” an award-winning independent feature documentary about the tragic "downwind" effects of the Trinity Bomb on Native and New Mexican communities throughout New Mexico. Most recently, he spent three years as a cinematographer and editor for an upcoming documentary detailing Georgia O'Keefe's life and art.

Celia Spacone, Ph.D., Coordinator, Suicide Prevention Coalition of Erie County

Dr. Celia Spacone has been the Coordinator of the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Erie County since 2018. She earned her Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Buffalo. After graduating, she began a 32-year career at the Buffalo Psychiatric Center. In her current role as Coordinator of the Erie County Coalition, she coordinates the activities of 58 agencies and stakeholders, provides gatekeeper and mental health professional training, and leads public health initiatives. She speaks to the media on behalf of the Coalition, informs the Coalition of current research on suicide prevention and public health approaches, and shares this information with the Coalition.

Event Venue

WNED PBS Studios, 140 Lower Terrace, Buffalo, United States