Rotten Tomatoes
Submit search Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Before the Moon Falls

Play trailer 2:40 Poster for Before the Moon Falls 2025 1h 41m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
Tomatometer 4 Reviews Popcornmeter 0 Ratings
On an early morning in May 2024, director Kimberlee Bassford awoke to a message on her phone. Her film’s protagonist, the acclaimed Samoan writer Sia Figiel, had been arrested in Samoa. For eight years, Bassford had been crafting an intimate portrait of Figiel, a groundbreaking novelist and poet, celebrated worldwide as the first to give voice to the struggles of Samoan girls and women. She and her team had followed Figiel's triumphs and hardships, from literary stardom to a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, and had nearly completed the film when tragedy struck. What emerges is a searing exploration of mental illness in all its complexities. Deeply nuanced and human, Before the Moon Falls is at once a compelling tribute to one woman’s extraordinary life and a reckoning with the devastating consequences of what happens when care for mental health is absent or inconsistent.

Critics Reviews

View More
Kenneth R. Morefield 1More Film Blog 4h
2.5/4
It would be crass — and not entirely true — to say that this tragic turn saves the movie. Go to Full Review Panos Kotzathanasis Asian Movie Pulse May 17
7.5
All in all, "Before the Moon Falls" is another documentary that highlights how the stories presented in the medium can surpass any kind of fiction, and an overall spectacle that is truly intriguing to watch. Go to Full Review Alan Ng Film Threat May 6
8/10
Before the Moon Falls could be considered an awareness documentary, but it’s so much more than that. It’s still the story of Sia Figiel, who left her imprint on this world for better and worse. Go to Full Review Morgan Rojas Cinemacy May 1
Director Kimberlee Bassford’s poignant portrait of a tortured genius is a stunning case study of the cinematic art form. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Cast & Crew

View All

Kimberlee Bassford

Director

Sia Figiel

Self

Kimberlee Bassford

Writer

Sia Figiel

Writer

Kimberlee Bassford

Producer

Linda Goldstein Knowlton

Producer
View All

Before the Moon Falls

Before the Moon Falls: Trailer 1 Before the Moon Falls: Trailer 1 2:40 View more videos
View All

Before the Moon Falls

View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis On an early morning in May 2024, director Kimberlee Bassford awoke to a message on her phone. Her film’s protagonist, the acclaimed Samoan writer Sia Figiel, had been arrested in Samoa. For eight years, Bassford had been crafting an intimate portrait of Figiel, a groundbreaking novelist and poet, celebrated worldwide as the first to give voice to the struggles of Samoan girls and women. She and her team had followed Figiel's triumphs and hardships, from literary stardom to a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, and had nearly completed the film when tragedy struck. What emerges is a searing exploration of mental illness in all its complexities. Deeply nuanced and human, Before the Moon Falls is at once a compelling tribute to one woman’s extraordinary life and a reckoning with the devastating consequences of what happens when care for mental health is absent or inconsistent.
Director
Kimberlee Bassford
Producer
Kimberlee Bassford, Linda Goldstein Knowlton
Screenwriter
Kimberlee Bassford, Sia Figiel
Production Co
Making Waves Films
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 41m