A short film written by and starring a Mississauga actor is now available to stream after a year on the festival circuit. Lost Memories, from Mississauga-based actor, writer and producer Nader Nassereddine, is streaming on VIDIVERSE, an independent platform launched in 2021 by Australian filmmaker Alex Proyas, the director of Dark City, The Crow and I, Robot, INsauga.com reported this week.
The film deals with Alzheimer's disease and the toll it takes on families, not only on the people diagnosed but on those who watch someone they love slowly drift away. It follows a young couple, Zachary, played by Nassereddine, and Daisy, played by Sabrina Knappett. The story opens with a difficult conversation about the decline of Daisy's father, before Daisy asks how Zachary would cope if she one day lost her own memories.
From a Streetsville stage
Nassereddine attended Rick Hansen Secondary School in Streetsville before completing a bachelor's degree at Toronto Metropolitan University. He told INsauga.com that a final-year project at Rick Hansen, in which he wrote, adapted and staged a play about mental health, first convinced him that art could be used to explore illness and raise awareness.
Lost Memories is his first screenplay and his third project as an executive producer.
It’s my baby, to be honest.
— Nader Nassereddine, speaking to INsauga.com
He said the film was shot in 2024 after 10 months of development and pre-production, then spent 2025 on the festival and awards circuit. It screened at the Canadian & International Short Film Festival, where it received an Award of Commendation.
A personal subject
Nassereddine said Alzheimer's disease has affected both sides of his family, and that he has seen friends watch loved ones deteriorate in the final stages. The team went through 10 versions of the script, he said, and he wanted the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health involved so the story would be medically respectful. The short was made in partnership with the CAMH Foundation and Visit Mississauga, and produced by Mikejeffwong Productions Inc., an independent Toronto company founded by director Mike Wong.
The Alzheimer Society of Canada estimates that more than 750,000 Canadians were living with dementia as of January 2025. Nassereddine and Wong shot the short in Mississauga and Oakville.
A growing production scene
The release adds to Mississauga's growing screen-industry profile. INsauga.com reports that the city is now home to eight established film studios with more than one million square feet of stage space, giving local filmmakers more room to shoot close to home.
