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“Tonight and Every Night,” the short film created by Asbury Park native Christina Eliopoulos this year is headed to full length feature production.

“We will try to keep as many of the original stars and crew as possible,” Eliopoulos said.

Inspired by her late father’s life after a diagnosis of dementia, Eliopoulos addresses the fragility of the disorder and the power love.

“My family emigrated to Asbury Park in 1917, so we have just celebrated a centennial of sorts,” Eliopoulos said. “Dad loved it here. We filmed on the streets and in the neighborhoods where my dad spent some of the happiest years of his life. Just days before his passing, I took him to the boardwalk. We sat in the sun and he stared out across the beach, just entranced by the ocean. We filmed a beautiful sequence along that same stretch of beach.”

Eliopoulos is an award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker whose previous work includes the “Greetings from Asbury Park” and “Demon on Wheels.” This film explores a very difficult subject matter and the story itself is deeply tinged with sadness and loss, she said.

The 22-minute short film traces an unlikely friendship that develops after an elderly man Yianni, portrayed by Paterson native Joe Cortese, wanders away from home and comes to the aid of a lost and lonely boy.

Cortese, a veteran film and stage actor, is most known for a range of roles, including as Rasmussen in American History X with Edward Norton to Sarni in Lucky Town with James Caan and Kirsten Dunst.

As Yianni, Cortese delicately portrays the balance of reality with character’s internal life as a talk show host. Those scenes were shot at the Spring Lake Community House on Madison Avenue.

“My task, as a filmmaker and as a daughter, was to try to capture and celebrate, and in a way memorialize, every moment of joyfulness,” Eliopoulos said. “Each little eccentricity and whatever silly delights we could enjoy together. On some level, I think that my father understood how scared I was. I’ve often wondered if he was deliberately trying to make me laugh, just to spare me from the pain.”

The short has been touring the film-festival circuit, debuting in June at the Dances With Films festival in Los Angeles and is now headed to New Hope, PA and Washington, DC.

A benefit screening, featuring a panel discussion with the film’s stars and crew, will be held 7:30 p.m. on August 6 at The ShowRoom Cinema, located at 707 Cookman Ave.

The short also stars newcomer Azhy Robertson, a 7-year-old who portrayed the lost boy, and Janis Dardaris as Plousia, Yianni’s beloved wife. Jersey natives Stephen Badalamenti and Tara Murtha, and award-winning performers Mark Gindick and Katherine Sigismund fill out the cast.

The film’s lyrical storytelling, visual metaphors, cinematography and pacing, was lensed by cinematographer Russell Swanson, with Jersey-based producer Elizabeth Kinder serving as Executive Producer. Asbury Park resident Kerry Margaret Butch, who has collaborated with Eliopoulos on several New Jersey-themed documentaries, served as co producer.

Proceeds from the benefit screening will support the remaining festival run, through collaboration with fiscal sponsor – the New York Women in Film & Television [NYWIFT]. The nonprofit supports and promotes the work of women directors and storytellers, provides training and professional development, and advocates for equality in the entertainment industry.

New Jersey Natural Gas is sponsoring the screening, being held in conjunction with a future special master class to be administered by the filmmakers to Asbury Park students, Eliopoulos said.

Tickets for the August 6 screening event are $14, available at The Showroom box office at 707 Cookman Avenue or via the website. For more information about the film, visit tonightandeverynight.com.

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