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In Development · Feature / Drama

Dreams of My Mother

Dreams of My Mother key art

A young Black couple falls in love while confronting family secrets and emotional scars that threaten to tear them apart.

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Concept Trailer
Synopsis

Kiana races to the hospital to give birth to her son, Keith. Years later, adult Keith, now a young tech executive, is haunted by lucid dreams of that moment, watching his newborn self handed to his adoptive parents. In the present, Keith meets Melody, an aspiring fashion designer whose warmth and creativity pull him out of himself. As their connection deepens, she encourages him to search for his birth mother.

Guided by that push, and by the dreams he cannot shake, Keith begins to uncover the secrets behind his adoption while championing Melody through a strained relationship with her own mother and a breakout New York Fashion Week debut. Then word arrives that his birth mother wants no contact, ashamed that she hid his adoption from her family. The revelation forces Keith to confront his sense of self worth and the loss of someone he never knew.

Melody becomes his anchor, and the search for healing sets off a chain of events that leads Keith to his biological father. Reunited with his roots, he finds closure, and his love for Melody becomes a marriage officiated by the father he thought he would never meet. Their story ends on a meditation on love, legacy, and finding beauty in life's ups and downs.

Vision

A thoughtful reimagining of belonging through an emotional quest for love and ancestry. The distance of an unfamiliar home and the acceptance of a new found love are felt in the film's color, through the dry desaturation of some spaces and the bold vibrancy of others. Dreams of My Mother is a human story that seeks to question the very definition of family and kinship.

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Accolades
Gotham Film & Media Institute Fiscal Sponsorship
2025
Winner, Best Screenwriter · NYIFA
2023
Winner, Best Drama Screenplay · LAFA
2023
Production
Status
In development
Year
2026
Format
Digital, with 16mm dream sequences
Camera
Arri Alexa Mini LF
Lenses
Leitz Summilux-C · Angenieux Optimo
Locations
New York City · Baltimore · Sonoma
Comparable Films
Moonlight (2016) Past Lives (2023) The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) Nickel Boys (2024)
Team
Director
Elwood Taylor
A Brooklyn-based director and cinematographer whose work blends grounded aesthetics with imaginative storytelling. He has directed content for VICE (United Gangs of America, Hells Angels: Kingdom Come) and campaigns for Dove Men, Oatly, and Tillamook.
Writer / Lead / Producer
Marcus R. Smith
An award-winning writer, actor, and producer from Northern California. As an actor he has appeared in Americano (TIFF), Blue Bloods (CBS), and Inside Amy Schumer (Hulu). Marcus has produced shorts and the feature Neon Affair.
Producer
Deny Gallagher
A New Jersey-based filmmaker and graduate of UCLA's Film and Television Producing program. His debut feature Americano premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival and was distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Gravitas Ventures. He has produced for SiriusXM, MLB, and the NBA.

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