Dreams of the Moon

Feature Film: Drama • Color | 95 minutes | English

A coming of age adventure inspired by a true story, Dreams of the Moon is set in 1971 against the backdrop of the secret NASA Apollo 16 training mission and tells the story of an African-American teenage girl who dreams of becoming an astronaut in her small mining town.

STARRING: Riele Downs, Karen LeBlanc, Evan Ellison, John Daniel, Keith David and Gbenga Akinnagbe. SUPPORTING: Christian Martyn, Mark Taylor, Andrew Moodie and Michelle Lipper

DIRECTOR: Alfons Adetuyi
WRITER: Alfons Adetuyi & Dennis Foon

PRODUCER: Alfons Adetuyi
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Cora Tonno, Lisa Di Michele, Gary Shapiro & Horace Rayners

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Inner City Films

IMDB: Dreams of the Moon

Dreams of the Moon, the latest feature from award-winning filmmaker Alfons Adetuyi (Love Jacked, High Chicago). This evocative period piece, inspired by the true events of the 1971 Apollo 16 training mission in Northern Ontario, is a coming-of-age adventure infused with Afrofuturist mysticism. It seamlessly blends historical fact and imaginative fiction against the charged backdrop of Watergate-era politics, the women’s liberation movement, and the lingering echoes of the space race.

Starring Riele Downs (Darby and the Dead, Henry Danger), as Lucy a fearless young Black girl whose dream of becoming an astronaut collides with the extraordinary moment NASA astronauts descended 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 beyond their circumstances.

The film features a dynamic ensemble, pairing rising stars with acclaimed veterans: Downs is joined by Evan Ellison (She Came to Me, Government Cheese) as Julian, John Daniel (Wayward, The Hardy Boys) as Matt, alongside Karen LeBlanc (Nurse.Fighter.Boy, The Kings of Napa) as Lucy’s resilient mother Michelle. Also featuring celebrated actors Keith David (The Lowdown, Greenleaf, Love Jacked), and Gbenga Akinnagbe (The Wire, Chicago Med), alongside a vibrant mix of Canadian, U.S., Nigerian and South African talent.

“This is the movie I’ve been waiting my whole life to make,” says Adetuyi. “Sudbury shaped me as a storyteller—it’s where UFO conspiracies were debated over fries, where neighbors from around the world built new lives, and where a little Black kid could look up at the astronauts and believe anything was possible.”

With its 1970s cinematic style and universal themes of resilience, first love, and imagination, the film promises a timely and inspiring story about daring to dream beyond the horizon.

Dreams of the Moon is made possible in part by the Government of Canada (Creative Export Canada), and with the support of Telefilm Canada, Canada Media Fund, Ontario Creates, Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC), AfroGlobal Media, and Media Productions 2C. Elevation Pictures is handling distribution in Canada.

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