Pastor. Gay Rights Activist. Grandmother.

My mother Joyce Speegle was all of these. In 2005 she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. But even in the midst of the disease she maintained her desire to make a difference. So she asked me to document what she was going through. “In the Night” is an intimate chronicle of my mother’s struggle with Alzheimer’s. It is the story of a grandmother’s grief as she begins losing the very abilities that her new granddaughter is learning. It is the story of a pastor’s crisis of faith as she questions what is happening to her. It is a journey from anguish to acceptance.

And in the end, it is a story of joy.

Academy Award winner Marcia Gay Harden performs the voiceover part of my mother.

“In the Night” is on PBS! Watch it online or check your local PBS schedule for future airings. Thanks to our supporters who helped to make this happen.

And thank you to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund for supporting our film. Donate to help put an end to this disease.

“In the Night” has been used to train nursing aides in an Alzheimer’s facility, and we screened for students in the School of Social Work at Columbia University. We were nominated for Best Documentary at Kevin Smith’s Smodcastle Film Fest.

Meet Our Team

Pastor Joyce Speegle

Joyce was ordained pastor of Akron Metro Christian Church in 1985, and she ministered to the gay community for over 20 years. She was a contributing writer on LGBTQ issues to the Akron Beacon Journal, and producer of A Special Place in Heaven, an exploration of homosexuality in Bible scripture that has been used as a teaching resource in the University of Alabama’s Women’s Studies program. She was a founding member of the Northeast Ohio Task Force on AIDS, and she made numerous appearances on TV & radio, including the popular Cleveland TV show The Morning Exchange. She is survived by her three children, Vicki, Keith, and Herb, six grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and her spouse Maria.

Marcia Gay Harden | Voiceover, Pastor Joyce Speegle

Academy Award® winner Marcia Gay Harden has forged a remarkable body of work, always staying true to her chameleon of “becoming the character.” Her character portraits have been described by critics as “searing”, “heartbreaking”, “inventive”, “astonishing”, “authentic”, and “sensuous”. From the glamorous Ava Gardner in Sinatra, to the artist Lee Krasner in Pollock (for which she won Best Supporting Actress Oscar®), to the down and out Celeste in Mystic River (another Academy Award® nomination), Marcia has created a signature based in character transformation. She is active in the fight against Alzheimer’s and has written a memoir recounting her profound relationship with her mother, The Seasons of My Mother.

Vicki Speegle | Writer, Producer and Editor

Vicki’s screenplay Loved Ones was developed at Amazon Studios where it was finalist for Best Screenplay of the Year. Her work has placed in the finals of the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, Slamdance, and Bluecat. A graduate of New York University, Vicki’s credits include a comedy feature for Applause films and radio scripts for jazz great Wynton Marsalis. She lives in New Jersey, working as a writer/filmmaker, and as a web producer for Carnegie Hall.

Don Riemer | Editor, Sound Mixer and Colorist

Don studied photography, graphic design, and media production at county college, later at the University of Wisconsin. After four years as staff writer/director at New York Television, he became an independent media consultant, a role he continues to this day. He received Telly Awards for Best Documentary Editing in 2010 and 2016. Don also teaches Cinema Post Production at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Visit Don at airworthy.com.

Jodelle | Music Composer

Jodelle was named a Top 12 DIY artist in Performing Songwriter Magazine, and her music has been selected for the Songwriters Hall of Fame Best of the New Writers Showcase Compilation CD. She performs in prestigious venues and festivals all across North America and Europe, and she has opened for Ray Charles and Ben Taylor (son of James Taylor). Jodelle has written and recorded 2 albums, The Adventures of Jodelle and Better Than OK.

Dino Barlaam | Voiceover

Dino Barlaam is an award-winning screenwriter and comic book creator. His comic books can be found online at Comixology and Indyplanet. He appeared in the award-winning short film, Shy Guys, starring Tony Award winner Reed Birney. Dino’s short script In the Running aired on the PBS series 24 Frames. He lives in the Garden State and works as a middle school teacher.

Kaylene French | Voiceover

Kaylene studied at the Royal National Theatre in London, England. She has performed extensively in regional theatres throughout the US, and worked for many years in educational theatre, performing in schools across the country. Her theatre credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Zastrozzi, The Taming of the Shrew, and Fiddler on the Roof, among others. She has appeared in TV & film in One Life to Live, Law & Order SVU, Saturday Night Live, 100 Centre Street (directed by Sidney Lumet), and a starring role in the independent film Spree. Kaylene has written and directed many film projects that have screened in festivals throughout the US.

Jenny Turner Hall | Voiceover

Jenny is an Executive Producer, Writer, and Director of the Peabody-winning series The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel, which Vulture deemed one of “The Ten Essential Fiction Podcasts That Shaped the Genre.” It became the second podcast in history to win a Peabody, and one of the first podcasts to crossover into television. She went on to write and direct an original series for Marvel starring Robert Patrick, Wastelanders: Wolverine. The show became the number one audio fiction podcast in America and around the world. She now creates shows that can exist as podcast, TV show, book, video game, and/or theater. Her stories draw heavily from her teenage kids, her Virginia roots, and her love of the underdog.

Fredric Lehne | Voiceover

Fred has worked with some of the industry’s best directors, including Hal Ashby, Robert Redford (in Ordinary People), Kathryn Bigelow, Christopher Nolan, and Barry Sonnenfeld (in Men in Black). He’s become a very familiar face to television audiences for his work on such shows as Westworld, Preacher, Criminal Minds, Lost, American Horror Story, X-Files and Supernatural, to name just a few. Fred is writer, director and producer of the award-winning short Shy Guys, starring Tony Award winner Reed Birney.

And thank you to our fiscal sponsor From the Heart Productions.