‘Awakenings’ to be shown

A free showing of the British documentary “Awakenings” will be Tuesday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. in Tripp Commons, second floor, Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St.

This 1973 documentary explores the experiences of post-encephalitic patients, frozen in time and motion, who were given the drug L-dopa. While the drug treatment had initial success in bringing these patients back to life, after time the treatments failed, sometimes with severe, devastating reactions.

The patients featured in the documentary were first introduced by Oliver Sacks in his book of the same name. Sacks visited UW–Madison in September and addressed the Chancellor’s Convocation, which welcomes new students to campus each fall.

Sacks agreed to have the documentary made after being accused of making up the patients and disease he described in his book. The film includes historical reports about the encephalitis epidemic, discussions with Sacks and interviews with some of the patients who inspired characters in the 1990 Hollywood movie, also called “Awakenings.”