Events

Join us for a sound meditation session (beginner’s welcome!) with author, musician, and meditation teacher Johnny Scifo as he plays the singing bowls and shares insights from his book, Brain Flowers: 10 Keys to Awakening in the Real World.

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Starting January 9, 2024, the Nyack Art Collective will sponsor weekly Figure Drawing on Tuesdays, 6:15-9:15 pm at X House Nyack, 48 S. Franklin St., Nyack, @xhousenyack https://www.instagram.com/xhousenyack/
These sessions are open to the public. Artists must provide their own materials and may bring an easel if desired. Session is $15 per person, $13 for Nyack Art Collective members.

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Everyone Has A Story: with Phoenix Theatre, the Nyack Senior Center & Meals on Wheels

Friday, January 30, 3:00pm (Community Meeting Room)

Join us as our own Nyack seniors share the funny, moving and poignant performance they have created.

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58 Depew Avenue Nyack, NY 1096

(845) 353-2568

 

Contact: Patricia Schneider/Publicist

(917) 612-2675

 

The Reality of Living with Severe Mental Illness Explored in Documentary

 

January 2026 – Rivertown Film takes a deep dive into one of the most urgent yet overlooked crises in America: the harsh truth about dealing with mental illness every day when it presents “No One Cares About Crazy People” on Wednesday, January 28^th at the Nyack Center (58 Depew Ave., Nyack).

 

The documentary was inspired by Ron Powers’ acclaimed book of the same name – a hybrid narrative of tragic family memoir and searing social history. The film follows families and individuals who are struggling with schizophrenia, bipolar and other disorders, all trapped in the clutches of a dysfunctional system. Concurrently, a growing movement of national advocates are introduced.

 

Director Gail Freedman delivers a film that’s both intimate and wide-reaching. We witness as author Powers, whose two sons are schizophrenic, come to terms with the suicide of one of those sons. He and his wife are ushered into the “sub-nation” of those with serious mental illnesses, a third of whom go untreated. We also meet the Burgos family, whose husband and father suffers from severe bi-polar disorder, enveloping the family in crisis after crisis. Finally, the heartrending tale of Mark Rippee, a psychotic, blind and homeless man unfolds. Despite the ministrations of his two sisters, Rippee is unable to transcend his grim reality.

 

The film also presents the birth of a national grassroots movement to radically reform our broken care systems. California, the epicenter of serious mental illness reform, now has its Governor and state legislature responding to public pressure with bold and controversial initiatives.  These are followed over the course of three years, with Governor Gavin Newsom sitting for an interview. “No One Cares About Crazy People” harnesses the power of storytelling as a tool for change, while galvanizing public discussion.

 

There will be a post-film discussion with Gail Freeman and the film’s editor, Dina Potocki, as well as Alyssa Schmidt, Vice President of Mobile Support Services at Greater Mental Health of New York, based in Valley Cottage. The Community Partner for the film is Greater Mental Health of New York.

 

Doors to the Nyack Center open at 7:30pm, and the film begins at 8pm. Tickets are $13/General Admission, $11/Students & Seniors, and $9/Rivertown Film Members More information can be found at rivertownfilm.org.

 

Rivertown Film is a non-profit organization which was founded in 2001. Their mission is devoted to celebrating, exploring and promoting the art of the motion picture through film screenings and educational programs. The organization is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts and with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and our corporate sponsors are Elena Schloss, Happy Dwellings with Elena/ Julia B. Fee, Sotheby’s International Realty, PainterSmith, Harrington Press, and Emerald Medicare.

 

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A Rivertown Film 25th Year Special Event
Losing Ground
Directed by Kathleen Collins
With Seret Scott, Bill Gunn, Duane Jones
USA, 1982, 84 minutes

When the artist husband of a philosophy professor (based on the Rockland County filmmaker) sells a painting to a major museum he decides the couple should head off to the country for the summer, and picks Haverstraw because he feels drawn to the landscape, the light, and “those Puerto Rican ladies.”

Losing Ground is one of the first feature films directed by a Black woman. Lost for decades, it was the opening night film of  the seminal Film Society of Lincoln Center series, “Black Independents in New York, 1968-1986,” presented in 2015. It’s rave reviews quickly led its first ever theatrical run, and had it received more than just a few screenings when it was made it would have been recognized as one of the most important and original films of its time (“A cinematic masterwork” – Richard Brody, The New Yorker).

This will be only the 3rd public screening of Losing Ground in Rockland County (home of Kathleen Collings). Rivertown Film presented the first screening, via virtual theater, during Covid.

This screening of Losing Ground will include a discussion with Nina and Emilio Collins, the daughter and son of Kathleen Collins, who were both raised in Nyack and attended local schools. Cast and crew members will also be present.

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No One Cares About Crazy People
Directed by Gail Freedman
2025, USA, 96 minutes

Inspired by Ron Powers’ acclaimed book of the same name, No One Cares About Crazy People is an intimate deep dive into the crisis and chaos of severe mental illness in America. A heartbreaking family memoir and searing social history, it is personal and immersive – but also tracks a burgeoning grassroots movement to reinvent our failed systems. Narrated by actor Bob Odenkirk (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) with original music by Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy.

Discussion with filmmaker Gail Freedman after the film.

 

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