Dan and Paul Lukasik shared a typical brotherly life during their childhood: they played together, squabbled, and were best friends. However, as they grew older, each faced a different diagnosis of mental illness. Paul’s bipolar disorder sometimes allowed him to be a high-functioning and successful professional, but his swings between depression and mania were profoundly life-altering. Dan’s struggle with major depression began at the age of forty while he was a successful attorney. Ultimately, it was Dan who received a call from the Lackawanna Police Department two years ago, informing him that Paul’s life had tragically come to an end. While Paul’s painful struggles had come to an end, Dan embarked on a new journey of grief and healing.

Dan shares his family’s story—anguish, striving, grief, and ultimately peace and hope—in the documentary film "My Brother Lost in Time: A Bipolar Life," created by professional filmmaker Mark Anthony Dellas. This compelling film will make its Southtowns debut on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at the Aurora Theatre, 673 Main St., East Aurora. Doors open at 6 pm; the film will be screened at 6:30 pm, followed by a panel discussion. This special evening is presented by Spectrum Health and Human Services and is free and open to the public.

After meeting Dellas, Dan decided to tell his family's story through a documentary. "Making the film with Mark was difficult, but very healing,” he says. “I did not want mental illness to define who Paul was as a person. The documentary explores the troubled childhood we experienced with an alcoholic father and the lasting effects that had on our mental health.”

Following the documentary, Dan and Mark will be joined by Celia Spacone, Ph.D., Coordinator for Suicide Prevention at Crisis Services and others for a discussion about depression and its impact on individuals and their loved ones.
Thanks to the Aurora Theatre, part of the West Herr Automotive Group family, and 7WKBW for making this special evening possible.
Spectrum Health and Human Services offers mental health, addiction, rehabilitation, care coordination, housing, and crisis services across various locations in Western New York. Established in 1973, its counseling clinics are Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers (CCBHC). For more information, visit www.shswny.org.