Before the Moon Falls
A DOCUMENTARY FILM
Before the Moon Falls
A DOCUMENTARY FILM
ABOUT THE FILM
Documentary Feature / 2025 / 101 mins. / USA / Color / English
In May 2024, news of a murder in the Polynesian nation of Samoa rocked the Pacific. The perpetrator—Sia Figiel—was a trailblazing novelist and poet who earned international acclaim for being the first to write about the difficult realities Samoan girls and women face. The victim was her friend, who was also a poet.
This film was a portrait of Sia Figiel eight years in the making when the murder happened. Now it offers an in-depth and thought-provoking look at Sia’s journey leading up to the tragedy, illuminating the complexity of untreated mental illness and the devastating toll it can exact on individuals, families and entire communities.
BEFORE THE MOON FALLS is a co-production of Making Waves Films LLC, ITVS, Pacific Islanders in Communications, American Documentary and Ford Foundation JustFilms.
Our Partners
The Team
Kimberlee Bassford, Director/Producer/Writer
Kimberlee Bassford is an independent documentary filmmaker from Hawai‘i, who advances equality by spotlighting stories of girls and women of color, Asian American and Pacific Islander cultural identity, and mental health. She has directed and produced several feature-length and short documentaries, including MY CHINATOWN, WITH ALOHA (2022, Asian American Documentary Network), SCALING UP: HAWAI‘I’S FOOD FUTURE (2022, PBS Hawai‘i), WINNING GIRL (2014, America ReFramed), PATSY MINK: AHEAD OF THE MAJORITY (2008, PBS) and CHEERLEADER (2003, HBO Family) and was a producer on two national PBS documentary series: UNNATURAL CAUSES: IS INEQUALITY MAKING US SICK? (2008) and THE MEANING OF FOOD (2005). Her films have garnered festival jury and audience awards, the Hot Docs Forum first look 1st place pitch prize, Firelight Media’s Spark Fund Award, a duPont-Columbia Award, Student Academy Award and CINE Golden Eagles. Her work has been supported by the Sundance Institute, CNN, CBS, HBO, PBS, ITVS, Center for Asian American Media, Pacific Islanders in Communications, International Documentary Association, Film Independent, The Gotham, Firelight Media, Kartemquin Films and others. Kimberlee holds a BA in psychology from Harvard University and a Master of Journalism from University of California Berkeley. She owns Making Waves Films LLC, a documentary production company in Hawai‘i.
Linda Goldstein Knowlton, Producer
Linda Goldstein Knowlton is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, working in documentary and scripted feature films as well as television. Her most recent film, SPLIT AT THE ROOT, Executive Produced by Rosario Dawson; the film premiered at SXSW in 2022, and will be on a major streaming platform in 2023. The award-winning WE ARE THE MONARCHS premiered at SXSW in 2019 and had its broadcast premiere on PBS in 2020. She started her career producing feature films including the award-winning WHALE RIDER and THE SHIPPING NEWS, and began directing documentaries in 2003. For her directorial debut, she co-directed THE WORLD ACCORDING TO SESAME STREET, which debuted at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival in competition and aired nationally on PBS. Goldstein Knowlton directed and produced the Women and Hollywood episode of the six Emmy-nominated documentaries for PBS MAKERS: WOMEN WHO MAKE AMERICA series in 2014. Prior to that, she produced CODE BLACK, Best Documentary winner at the LA Film Festival and the Hamptons International Film Festival, and the basis for the CBS one-hour drama. Previously, she directed and produced SOMEWHERE BETWEEN, which won the Sundance Channel Audience Award at the Hot Docs Film Festival, and was released theatrically in over 80 cities in the U.S.
Jessica Lee Salas, Editor
Jessica Lee Salas is a documentary editor based in New Jersey who is drawn to stories exploring identity, culture and the mysteries of human nature. She loves the challenge of crafting a compelling narrative and the fulfillment of seeing a story come to life. Her most recent work, THE COST OF INHERITANCE directed by Yoruba Richen, premiered at DOC-NYC and broadcast on PBS in early 2024. Other editing credits include HAZING with director Byron Hurt for Independent Lens; NAILED IT, a feature doc for PBS’ America ReFramed; THE LOVING GENERATION, a 4-part series about growing up biracial for Topic.com; and several reports for PBS Newshour. In 2018, she was selected for the inaugural Karen Schmeer Diversity in the Edit Room Program.
Jay Hubert, Director of Photography
Jay Hubert began his professional filmmaking career in China after studying cinematography at the prestigious Beijing Film Academy. He worked as an assistant to top tier Chinese cinematographer Wang Yu before striking out on his own to shoot commercials, documentaries and promos for clients such as Apple, Volkswagen, Chevy, Peugeot, Intel, Lenovo, China Unicom, Bud Light, Discovery, Vice, Nylon and Xiaomi, while also working on several Chinese feature films. In 2013, he served as director of photography and co-editor for Volkswagen Group China’s PEOPLE’S CAR PROJECT–BUILDING THE CAR SERIES, a 10-episode web series awarded a Gold Lion at Cannes Lion. He has written and directed more than two dozen short films in various countries and languages, screening and winning awards at film festivals around the world. He is also an award-winning photographer and writer.
Mahima Tuladhar, Animator
Mahima Tuladhar is an independent animator with a passion for storytelling rooted in boundless imagination and a love for creation. From a young age, she found herself having an innate draw towards filmmaking and art. She found joy in building worlds from scratch, often drawing inspiration from the colors, textures and culture of her surroundings. Her whimsical, narrative-driven style brings a sense of wonder to each frame she animates. In 2015, Mahima earned her MFA in Animation from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Since then, she has lent her talents to a range of motion graphics projects and documentaries. And she is looking forward to continuing her passion in animation.
Poulima Salima, Composer
Poulima Salima is a composer of Samoan descent from Auckland, with ancestral ties to the villages of Safotu, Faletagaloa Safune (Savai’i) and Faleasi’u (Upolu), Samoa. A graduate of the University of Auckland, he earned his Bachelor of Music with Honours in Composition in 2005, with a dissertation on Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung. He was the composer for The Factory (2011), New Zealand’s first professional Pacific Musical, a groundbreaking work in the nation’s performing arts history. In 2019, he premiered Alofagia: Le Opera to sold-out audiences—an ambitious production he composed and conducted, featuring original works for string orchestra and songs performed by Sol3 Mio. In 2022, Poulima was one of six New Zealand composers commissioned by Professor Henry Doe at Indiana University of Pennsylvania to create new piano works reflecting on the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. His second opera, Gaualofa, composed in the Samoan language, was workshopped in early 2024 with the support of his Lyricist, His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Ta’isi Efi, and is set to premiere in 2025/2026. A passionate advocate for Pacific music, Poulima was commissioned by NZTrio to arrange four medleys celebrating Pacific heritage for TOLU, a Pacific Dance New Zealand theatre production. He also serves as the Moana Pacific Composer representative on the SOUNZ Composers Advisory Panel. Poulima continues to push artistic boundaries through interdisciplinary projects and world-class musical storytelling, bringing Pacific voices to the global stage. His YouTube playlist of music scores can be found here.
Resources
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. For specific resources in your country, please see the list below.
New Zealand
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 111.
Need to talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to talk with a trained counsellor for any reason.
You can also contact for free:
- Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357
- Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 / 0508 TAUTOKO (24/7). This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide or those who are concerned about family or friends.
- Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 (24/7) or text 4202
- Samaritans: 0800 726 666 (24/7)
- Youthline: 0800 376 633 (24/7) or free text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz
- What’s Up: free counselling for 5 to 19 years old, online chat 11am-10.30pm 7days/week or free phone 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787 11am-11pm
- Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155
- OUTLine: 0800 688 5463 (6pm-9pm)
- Alcohol Drug Helpline: 0800 787 797 (free text 8681)
For Pasifika-sensitive mental health resources, you can also go to:
Samoa
United States
In the U.S., call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
- Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
- Mental Health First Aid Resources
- National Alliance on Mental Illness
- SAMHSA Treatment Locator
- Treatment Advocacy Center
- Trevor Project (phone/text/chat support for LGBTQ+ youth)
In the State of Hawai‘i, you can also go to:
- National Alliance on Mental Illness - Hawai‘i Chapter
- Finding Help: A Resource Directory of Services in Hawai‘i