Before You
On the way to an abortion clinic with her husband, a woman finds herself pulled into the memories of everything that led them there, and everything that came after.
Told with intimacy and restraint, the film explores the often invisible grief of pregnancy loss and centers a personal reality beyond the political frame. Starring Tony nominee Tala Ashe, Before You gives voice to the journey that often remains unspoken while inviting empathy, reflection, and healing.
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Lauren MelindaDirector
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Lauren MelindaWriter
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Helena SardinhaProducerHuella, The Ballad of Tita and the Machines
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Rafael ThomasetoProducerHuella, The Ballad of Tita and the Machines
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Lauren MelindaProducer
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Tracy AftergoodProducerThe First Monday in May, This is Paris, Phoenix Rising, Helen Believe
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Tala AsheKey Cast"Maia"DC's Legends of Tomorrow, English on Broadway
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Adam RodriquezKey Cast"Avi"Jane the Virgin, Magic Mike, Criminal Minds, C.S.I Miami
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Caren Spruch The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc.In Solidarity WithObvious Child, Her Shorts, Little Woods, Across the Line, Protest
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Simbelle ProductionsProduction Company
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Project Type:Short
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Runtime:14 minutes 27 seconds
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Completion Date:January 21, 2025
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Digital Cinema Package:Unavailable
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Cleveland International Film FestivalCleveland, OH
United States
March 28, 2025 -
deadCenter Film FestivalOklahoma City, OK
United States
June 14, 2025 -
Film Independent Artist Development ShowcaseLos Angeles, CA
United States
July 23, 2025 -
SoHo International Film FestivalNew York City, NY
United States
October 8, 2025 -
Cinema Femme Short Film FestivalChicago, IL
United States
July 18, 2025
Chaz Ebert Phenomenal Person in Film: Lauren Melinda, Best Cinematography: Ludovica Isidori, Excellence in Editing: Vincente Manzano -
Sidewalk Film FestivalBirmingham, AL
United States
August 23, 2025 -
FilmfortBoise, ID
United States
March 29, 2025 -
Santa Fe FIlm FestivalSanta Fe, NM
United States
February 22, 2025 -
NewFilmmakers LALos Angeles, CA
United States
March 22, 2025 -
Dallas International Shorts Film FestivalDallas, TX
October 19, 2025 -
Breck Film FestivalBreckenridge, CO
United States -
Cascadia International Women’s Film FestivalBellingham, WA
United States
Lauren Melinda is an award-winning filmmaker, artist, and founder of Simbelle Productions. Her work explores feminine identity and perception while interrogating the cultural forces that shape the roles assigned to women.
As a mixed-media artist, Lauren's video installations have been commissioned by galleries, museums, and private collectors in North America and the Middle East, and her photographs are held in major collections around the world.
Lauren has written and directed three short films that have screened at 72 festivals across nearly every continent, winning top prizes at six. Her most recent narrative short, Before You, became Oscar-qualified and is now the centerpiece of a campus screening tour in collaboration with Planned Parenthood Gen Action, launching at Vanderbilt University in April 2026.
She is currently developing her debut feature, Echoes — a psychological thriller in which an Iranian-American artist's identity is slowly consumed by the Berlin gallery that claims to champion her, exploring the seductive violence of self-erasure.
As founder and CEO of Simbelle Productions, a nonprofit production company she launched in 2024 and named after her two daughters, Lauren has executive produced six feature films with premieres at SXSW, the Venice Film Festival, the Locarno Film Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival. Simbelle supports female-driven narrative films and the filmmakers behind them through equity investments, finishing funds, mentorship, and grant programs including the Career Advancement Program and Mothers in Focus.
Lauren holds dual bachelor's degrees in Fine Arts and Art History from UCLA and an MFA from UC Irvine. She is based in Los Angeles.
Abortion is not one story. Sometimes it happens in crisis; sometimes within love and planning. Public debate flattens these experiences. The lived reality is more complex.
"Before You" grew from a personal experience of having an abortion in a planned pregnancy. After my second daughter was born, I understood how that earlier loss remained present. It returned in small triggers: a sound, a gesture, a date on the calendar. The film looks at how that choice lives alongside motherhood, where joy and sorrow sit side by side.
I am drawn to filmmakers like Lynne Ramsay who trust image and sensation over explanation, and that spirit guided our approach. Performances remain intimate, the camera observes, and sound carries feeling across the cut. We adopted a nonlinear structure so moments surface as they do in life. Each transition was achieved practically, with choreography, moving set pieces, changes in light, and layered sound, so time slips without calling attention to itself.
"Before You" was made in solidarity with Planned Parenthood. We have hosted Q&As with local clinicians, Planned Parenthood representatives, and community leaders. In very different communities, including places where access is limited or stigma is high, people stay after to share histories they have held silent for years. The aim is not to argue a position but to restore context and invite empathy. These are not policy debates; they are human conversations. My hope is that this film gives language and recognition to those who need it, and that it widens the space for care within partnerships and families.
