Riele Downs is stepping into the spotlight as the lead in Dreams of the Moon, a coming-of-age adventure inspired by true events that blend history, imagination, and the limitless power of dreaming.
Set in 1971 against the backdrop of the Watergate scandal, the women’s liberation movement, and the lingering echoes of the space race, Dreams of the Moon follows Lucy (Downs), a fearless Black girl in a small Canadian mining town whose dream of becoming an astronaut takes flight when NASA astronauts descend on her community for secret Apollo 16 training.
As Lucy and her friends navigate their changing world, they learn about courage, hope, and the power of possibility.
Directed by Alfons Adetuyi (Love Jacked), the film also stars Keith David, Evan Ellison, John Daniel, Karen LeBlanc, and Gbenga Akinnagbe.
The project, produced by Adetuyi through Inner City Films, was co-written by Adetuyi and Dennis Foon. Cora Tonno and Lisa Di Michele serve as executive producers, with Sidney Chiu and Horace Rayners as co-producers.
Filming has wrapped in Ontario, Canada, and will continue in Cape Town, South Africa, later this year with a local crew and locations under the direction of co-producer Horace Rayners.
Dreams of the Moon will be distributed in Canada by Elevation Pictures, with support from Telefilm Canada, Ontario Creates, the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC), AfroGlobal Media, and Media Productions 2C, along with Creative Export Canada.
“This is the movie I’ve been waiting my whole life to make,” said Adetuyi. “Sudbury, Ontario, 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 sky and believe anything was possible.”
Originally attached to star Nia Long and Eden Duncan-Smith, Dreams of the Moon now takes on new life through Downs’ portrayal of Lucy — a story about reaching for the stars, even when the world around you feels small.