Riele Downs, best known for her role in Henry Danger, is leading the cast of coming-of-age drama “Dreams of the Moon,” a film set against the backdrop of the 1970s Watergate scandal, women’s liberation movement, and the space race era. The production has recently wrapped filming in Ontario, Canada, and will continue shooting in Cape Town, South Africa, later this year.
Directed by Alfons Adetuyi of Love Jacked fame, the film features an impressive ensemble including Evan Ellison from She Came to Me, John Daniel of The Hardy Boys, Karen LeBlanc from The Kings of Napa, Keith David of The Lowdown, and Gbenga Akinnagbe, known for his role in The Wire.
The film follows Lucy, portrayed by Downs, “a fearless young Black girl whose dream of becoming an astronaut collides with the extraordinary moment NASA astronauts descend on her small Canadian mining town. As Lucy and her friends navigate the complexities of their world, they discover the power of hope and the courage to dream big.” The narrative is inspired by true events from the 1971 Apollo 16 training mission in Northern Ontario, blending historical fact with fiction.
Director and producer Alfons Adetuyi expressed deep personal connection to the project: “This is the movie I’ve been waiting my whole life to make. Sudbury, Ontario, shaped me as a storyteller—it’s where UFO conspiracies were debated over fries, where neighbours from around the world built new lives, and where a little Black kid could look up at the sky and believe anything was possible.”
The Inner City Films production is written by Adetuyi and Dennis Foon, with Cora Tonno and Lisa Di Michele serving as executive producers. Sidney Chiu and Horace Rayners are co-producers, with Rayners overseeing the Cape Town leg of production featuring South African crew and locations.
The film has received support from multiple funders including Telefilm Canada, Ontario Creates, Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, AfroGlobal Media, and Media Productions 2C. Elevation Pictures will distribute the film in Canada.
