Before the Moon Falls is a portrait of an acclaimed Samoan writer navigating her turbulent life amid artistic brilliance and personal fracture. The film becomes a study of what happens when mental illness and cultural weight compound into something irreversible.

Sia Figiel is the Samoan writer and activist whose debut novel, where we once belonged, gave voice to the struggles and traumas of Samoan girls and women. For eight years, filmmaker Kimberlee Bassford documented Figiel’s work as an artist and activist, but primarily her struggle with mental illness.

Sia is the first to give voice to the struggles of Samoan girls and women — her books broke the silence on molestation and domestic violence in the Samoan community. But by 2024, the film was nearly complete when a message came through: Sia had been arrested in Samoa on a murder charge.

Her mother was trapped in an arranged marriage with a White American and became deeply resentful of her life. Over the years, that resentment manifested as anger directed at Sia. Her last book was released sixteen years ago, after the birth of her son. From then on, she never wrote again. Being bipolar became a problem—she abandoned her son and the medication as well, because it adversely affected her mental well-being.

“…documented Figiel’s work as an artist and activist, but primarily her struggle with mental illness.”

Before the Moon Falls is a character study of a prolific activist for Samoan women and their struggle to be safe. While the film follows the typical conventions of a biographical documentary, in which friends, colleagues, and family sit for talking-head interviews, documentarian Bassford had incredible access to Sia herself.

We aren’t talking about bipolar disorder; we are seeing it firsthand and over a long period of time, eight years. You see Sia at her best and her worst. We also witness a massive fight between her and her sister. In tough-love fashion, her sister warns her that she needs to get help, which resulted in ECT therapy.

The film ends where it started, with the haunting news that Sia had been arrested for the murder of her good friend, Dr. Caroline Sinavaiana-Gabbard. Yes, she did it, and this fact had a massive impact on the documentary, beginning with the simple question of whether the documentary should even be made.

Recently, I subjected myself to a long string of activist documentaries, and they can be truly annoying, but Before the Moon Falls is the story of an activist, and most importantly, it’s the story of the mental health crisis around the world. It’s not easy to just tell people to get over it or take a pill, and what ultimately leads to the ending of Sia’s story offers no easy answers. 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.