NEWSLETTER
New York, N.Y. – Dementia Spring Foundation and the creators of Dark Moon are proud to announce that the film has been accepted to and will be screened at the New York Shorts International Film Festival on Thursday, October 19 at 6 PM EST at Cinema Village.
Dark Moon is a short narrative film by Katie Mathews about a daughter (Billie) who comes home for the weekend to look after her father (Jack), recently diagnosed with dementia, when the appearance of a mysterious woman shines a light on their changing power dynamic. Dark Moon stars Tony Award winning artist Reed Birney, as Jack, and Tony nominee Marin Ireland, as Billie.
“I was navigating our place in that changing relationship,” says Mathews, who wrote the film based on her own lived experiences. “The response has been overwhelming, so many families continue to struggle with the dynamics that dementia brings.”
Dark Moon is written and directed by Mathews; produced by Michael Izquierdo and Nick Mills; cinematography by Mia Cioffi Henry, and funded, in part, by an Arts Impact Award from the Dementia Spring Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports artists and arts organizations working with the dementia community.
Dr. Marc Rothman, founder of Dementia Spring says “Dark Moon touches on so many important aspects of relating to a parent who begins to exhibit cognitive changes, and the subtle challenges that adult children often face. Katie’s writing and direction inspired us from the moment she applied, supporting her with an Impact Award was an honor.”
Read more about Dark Moon on Dementia Spring’s website and on the director’s website.
Tickets for the New York Shorts International Film Festival are on sale here; the event takes place October 13 to 19 in New York, New York.
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ABOUT DEMENTIA SPRING
The Dementia Spring Foundation is a bridge between the dementia and arts communities. We
fund artists and arts organizations doing original and programmatic work with the dementia
community, we raise awareness, and we inspire creativity and joy among people with dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.
Dementia Spring highlights a new artist every week through our Dementia Arts Spotlight Series. We provide annual grants to artists and arts organizations through our Dementia Arts Impact Awards. And each fall we our Dementia Arts Celebration brings together the artistic and dementia communities to celebrate the impact that the visual and performing arts can have on the lives of those with dementia, their families and caregivers.
ABOUT KATIE MATHEWS
Katie Mathews is a director and producer whose work has screened at festivals around the world, on PBS, Hulu, Disney+ and at the United Nations, bringing important stories to global audiences. She received the prestigious Princess Grace Award for Film in 2022 with the Wendy Ferguson Honor for distinction. She has been a fellow in renowned programs such as the Gotham Documentary Lab (2021), the Points North Fellowship and Pitch (2019), and the New Orleans Film Society's Southern Producers Lab (2018).
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Contact: Angela Perea, angela@dementiaspring.org