Artist Danielle Mailer, the daughter of literary giant Norman Mailer, is hosting a July 18 screening of the 2023 documentary “How to Come Alive With Norman Mailer” at the Bantam Cinema & Arts Center as a fundraiser for the Bantam Arts Factory mural commissioned by the Litchfield Arts Council.
The 9-by-30-foot mural, to be displayed on the elevator shaft, will feature a central image of a woman making pottery surrounded by references to other defining elements of Litchfield, including agriculture, the cinema and residents in the film business, the town’s bakeries, chefs and food establishments – and the signature Bantam rooster.
The mural will be painted by community members of all ages and abilities, including students, under the guidance of Danielle. It will be painted on pieces of Dibond inside the Bantam Annex, and installed on the elevator shaft when finished.
Tickets for the 7 p.m. documentary screening (at $37.50, $62.50, and $112. 50) include a donation of $25, $50 or $100 to the Arts Council to help subsidize the cost of the mural. Donors of $100 or more will receive a poster of the mural image signed by Danielle.
Those who want to support the mural but cannot attend the documentary screening may make a donation online.
Following the screening, Danielle and her oldest sister, Susan, will participate in a Q&A.
“It’s an incredibly powerful documentation of NM’s life and work and all his children are interviewed throughout. Even if you’ve already seen it on your home computer, there is nothing like the big screen,” Danielle said in an invite she sent to friends.
Go to the cinema’s event listing for tickets.
“Norman Mailer, a towering figure in American literature, had a life that was certainly stranger than fiction,” the cinema’s event page says. “From his formative years in Brooklyn, through his career as a preeminent cultural voice, we follow Mailer’s life through 6 marriages, 9 children, 11 bestselling books and 2 Pulitzer Prizes as he solidifies his place in the literary pantheon. With access to Mailer’s family and never seen footage, this biography details the life and times of an American icon.”