Private Project

Prelude of a Story

After a mother’s passing, a daughter searches through archival footage to understand who she was, and how it connects to the father's abusive relationship that is shaping her understanding of womanhood.

  • Ashley Salman
    Director
  • Ashley Salman
    Writer
  • Karina Sandoval
    Writer
  • Ashley Salman
    Producer
  • Carolina Acevedo
    Sound
  • Nicolás Aramburu
    Sound Design
  • Pabla Muriel
    Sound Design
  • Nicolás Aramburu
    Sound Mix
  • Pabla Muriel
    Sound Mix
  • Karina Sandoval
    Editors
  • Ashley Salman
    Cinematography
  • Christian Nawrath Smith - ColorHouse
    Post Production - Color Correction
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Prólogo de un Cuento
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Essay, Women
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes 40 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 3, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    Chile
  • Country of Filming:
    Chile, United States
  • Language:
    English, Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    June 3, 2023
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
  • FEST New Directors New Films Festival
    Espinho
    Portugal
    June 20, 2023
    European Premiere
    Official Selection Silver Lynx DOC
  • SANFIC Santiago International Film Festival
    Santiago
    Chile
    August 23, 2023
    Latin American Premiere
    JURY SPECIAL MENTION / Official Selection National Talents
  • FIDBA Buenos Aires International Documentary Film Festival
    Buenos Aires
    Argentina
    October 3, 2023
    Argentina Premiere
    Official Selection Ibero American Competition
  • NewFilmmakers Los Angeles
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    November 19, 2023
    BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY NOMINEE
  • I am Tomorrow International Film Festival
    Brussels
    Belgium
    November 24, 2023
    Belgium Premiere
    Official Selection DOC
  • NubleCine Festival de Cine Nacional de Nuble
    Chillan
    Chile
    January 13, 2024
    Southern Region Chile Premiere
    Official Selection Short Films
  • ANTOFACINE Antofagasta International Film Festival
    Antofagasta
    Chile
    March 1, 2024
    Northern Region Chile Premiere
    BEST SHORT FILM & YOUTH JURY SPECIAL MENTION
  • ATLFF Atlanta Film Festival
    Atlanta, GA
    United States
    April 30, 2024
    South East Premiere
    Georgia Shorts - JURY SPECIAL MENTION
  • 17º Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes Manuel Trujillo Durán
    Maracaibo
    Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of
    May 3, 2024
    Venezuela Premiere
    BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM
  • La Guarimba Film Festival
    Amantea
    Italy
    August 11, 2024
    Italy Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Leiden Shorts International Film Festival
    Leiden
    Netherlands
    June 8, 2024
    Netherlands Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Athens Film Festival
    Athens, Georgia
    United States
    August 16, 2024
    Athens Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Oslo Short Film Festival
    Oslo
    Norway
    August 28, 2024
    Norway Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Vancouver Latin American Film Festival
    Vancouver
    Canada
    September 10, 2024
    Canada Premiere
    Official Selection
  • New York Latino Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    September 19, 2024
    New York Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Ashley Salman

Chilean-American Filmmaker graduated from the University of Chile based in the US. Has been Director of Photography for "I'm still here" (Hot Docs 2017), "La Huella en el Agua" (Femcine 2020), "The Dance of the Swans". Selectee as a Berlinale Talents Buenos Aires (2017, Argentina) and for Castello Errante Residenza (Rome, Italy, 2020). Former International Producer of CinemaChile, the promotion agency of the Chilean Audiovisual industry abroad, having attended and participated in numerous Film Festivals and markets such as Marche du Film de Cannes, Berlinale, Biennale di Venezia, TIFF, Mipcom, Mipcancun, among others.
Currently residing in Atlanta, GA, working in Cinematography and Post-production, creating content for local projects and agencies, and distributing "Prelude of a Story", her first documentary short film premiered at LALIFF Los Angeles Latino Film Festival (Hollywood, CA, 2023), FEST New Directors New Films Festival (Portugal, 2023), SANFIC Santiago Festival Internacional de Cine (Jury Special Mention, Chile, 2023), FIDBA Festival Internacional de Documentales de Buenos Aires (Argentina, 2023). Also she is in the final stage of the script of her first documentary feature film "The Witch Old Story" (Script Atelier Berlinale Talents Buenos Aires, Conecta Regiones, SANFIC Lab, Lab Proceso de Error) a coming of age essay about womanhood, as well as writing a narrative feature based on a true story and filming a documentary project on prison reform in Atlanta with the National Incarceration Association.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

By taking the memories recorded by my mother many years ago before her death, a transformation inside me gave them a new meaning when her image changed due to what I was told by my father. This was the starting point of my metamorphosis as a woman, from the loss of my childhood to my own perception, still in the making, of what femininity is, with traces of values, morals, and points of view coming from a patriarchal family and violent macho culture.