Before the Moon Falls

Official Selection, 2025 Hawai‘i International Film Festival
Official Selection, 2025 Doc Edge Festival

Filmmakers in attendance. Film program will be followed by Q&A.

BEFORE THE MOON FALLS was an intimate portrait of acclaimed Samoan writer Sia Figiel eight years in the making when tragedy struck. Now the film offers an in-depth and thought-provoking look at Sia’s tumultuous journey leading to that traumatic moment, illuminating the complexities of inconsistently treated mental illness and the devastating toll it can exact on individuals, families and entire communities.

Film Content Advisory: Mental Illness, Sexual Abuse, Suicide, Violence

Credits
Writer: Kimberlee Bassford, Sia Figiel
Producer: Kimberlee Bassford, Linda Goldstein Knowlton
Executive Producer: Erika Dilday, Leanne K. Ferrer, Cheryl Hirasa, Carrie Lozano, Sheri Sobrato, Chris White
Director of Photography: Jay Hubert
Editor: Jessica Lee Salas
Composer: Poulima Salima
Sound Designer: Tom Scott-Toft, Joe Milner
Music: Poulima Salima
Animator: Mahima Tuladhar