By KAYLA J. MARSH
Staff Writer
EATONTOWN — An upcoming benefit will support a new film by a local resident that takes a look at the restorative power of love and human connection and the vast emotional landscape of dementia.
Nonprofit New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT), Spring Lake Community House & Theatre and supporters of women filmmakers and local independent film will host a reception and fundraiser from 4-7 p.m. on June 26 at the Spring Lake Community House & Theatre, 300 Madison Ave., Spring Lake.
Proceeds will go toward the production of the 25-minute film, “Tonight and Every Night,” by borough filmmaker Christina Eliopoulos.
“I believe that there are several kinds of filmmakers,” Eliopoulos said in a June 15 interview. “There are filmmakers who are strictly writers. There are filmmakers who are strictly directors, and there are some that love to do both and I love to do both.”
Eliopoulos is an award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker whose work includes, “Demon on Wheels,” about an old hot-rodder, his love and a 1968 resto-mod Mustang that comes between them, and “Greetings from Asbury Park,” which looks at how eminent domain affects a family and small town.
“[‘Tonight and Every Night’] is a story that came to me a couple of years ago and … I put it away in a drawer because emotionally it was a bit much for me to take on,” Eliopoulos said.
“I have so many people in my life who I know who — friends of mine, family members of mine, family members of close friends of mine — it just seems that there is a great many people who are suffering from [dementia] … and it was kind of emotionally too hot for me to touch at the moment.”
A push from longtime friend and producer Elizabeth Kinder helped to bring her script out, according to Eliopoulos.
“She said, ‘This is something you really should do. The meaning is there, the message is there,’” she said.
Knowing numerous individuals struggling with dementia, Eliopoulos said the film and many scenes and moments are inspired by true-life stories and events.
“My goal was to be very, very, very truthful, but also to be very sensitive because this is a difficult subject,” she said. “With my situation personally, I know that if I didn’t laugh occasionally, I would just be crying all day long because this kind of disorder … you lose your loved one little by little.
“The film, however, I believe is very joyous, very uplifting, very positive and speaks to what I believe is the most important message, and the message is that emotional intelligence is the strongest and most potent kind of intelligence and that intelligence remains even if someone’s memory has faded, even if someone’s sense of rationality is faded and when people who have dementia are in a difficult state — because they have stable days, they have very agitated days, they have very joyous days … what they are really looking for is I believe a kind of connection.
“… The film honors our loved ones who have dementia and it honors them in every shade and expression of their being.”
“Tonight and Every Night” follows Yanni, an elderly gentleman who one day slips away from his home and walks the streets of his small beach town. He ends up meeting a young boy he calls Boss and together the two set off on a journey of bonding and friendship.
“He wanders away in search of a friend and he finds one in a little boy who is also lost,” Eliopoulos said. “Their friendship and how they acknowledge and respect each other, the fact that both of them somehow know that they’re lost, but want to be strong for the other, is the beauty and centerpiece of the story.”
The narrative short film is set to begin filming in early September in numerous shore communities, including Asbury Park and Spring Lake.
At the benefit, guests can enjoy food, drinks and live entertainment and meet Eliopoulos, Kinder, cinematographer Russell Swanson and fellow crewmembers and filmmakers.
“We’re offering guests two fabulous afternoons,” Eliopoulos said. “In the first afternoon you get a sense of this script-to-screen experience. You’ll have a chance to meet with some of the other filmmakers aside from myself and you’ll see a little bit of the process of how we are going to do this [and] see it before it fully develops.”
Attendees will then receive a pass for the film’s debut screening at Spring Lake Community House & Theatre in the fall.
“We’ll all watch the film together and celebrate the film that all of us made together because anyone who contributes to a film is making that film in my eyes,” Eliopoulos said.
Tickets are $75 per person. Contributions are tax-deductible through the film’s fiscal sponsor, NYWIFT.
“NYWIFT is an amazing organization … they train young women who are entering the industry, they provide career counseling for women who are maybe mid-way through their career, they advocate for equality and greater pay for women and they help bring stories by women or about women or employing the talents of women to the forefront and that is an amazing resource,” Eliopoulos said.
“I know so many people who understand that film can be a very powerful medium for tackling these sensitive and difficult issues,” Eliopoulos said. “I’m very fortunate that all these fabulous [people] have surrounded me and are working tirelessly to support the film.
“… To take [a film] from the script to the screen is an extraordinary enterprise, and you need a small army of people who care about the project and who care about your vision, and I’m really lucky that I have that.”
For ticket information or to donate, visit www.tonightandeverynight.com.