PROLOGUE (2020)
Jack and Julie are in a relationship charged with terrible communication skills and a disruptive secret.
Prologue (2020) Trailer
Awards - Best Romantic Short at the Manhattan Film Festival, Remi Winner for Best Dramatic Short
Summary
Prologue is a short film charged with secrets and terrible communication skills. It follows Julie, a young Italian woman living in Northern California. She is perfectly happy until her husband expects something from her that she doesn’t feel comfortable giving, and cannot figure out how to tell him. With the unexpected help of an elderly stranger, Julie navigates how to live her truth.
The Maid teaser.
Presentation
Prologue is written by Piper Werle and directed by Justin Joseph Hall in their first collaboration. The story's mood was based off of a dream by the director and which interplays with the poignant content of Piper's much needed words.
ON THE SCREEN
JULIE – Claudia de Candia
Claudia de Candia is an Italian actress working and living between Milan and New York. She was born in Genova, her mother’s town and grew up in Milan. Her father is from Rome, a city she always dreamt of living in as a teenager watching famous old Italian movies. Today the place she feels most at home is her grandmother’s village of Arma di Taggia (Liguria).
JACK – Shawn Thomas Diefenbach
Born in Massachusetts, Shawn grew up between the suburbs of Boston and small towns of Cape Cod. He attended Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut where he played varsity football and earned his BA in Economics while beginning his career in theater and film.
CHRISTINA – Shirley Venard
Shirley is a professional Actor in television, radio, theatre. In film she is known for Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014), The Midnight Swim (2014), The Cure (1995). She is a graduate and a professor of the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.
BARB – Ariel Woodiwiss
Ariel Woodiwiss is an American producer, actor and director. Originally from North Carolina she obtained a Bachelor of the Arts in Social Justice, she was greatly inspired by her art studies in Orvieto, Italy, which eventually led to her pursuit of an MFA and formalized the desire to act, direct and produce. Ariel has worked extensively on the NYC stage.
Anecdote: Casting Claudia
Director Justin Joseph Hall had a person stay at his Brooklyn apartment as an AirBnB guest. He invited that guest to a podcast he works on, We Don't Even Know. At the show the guest brought his friend, Claudia de Candia. She told Justin she was an actress and Justin was almost done casting for Prologue, but told Claudia to send her reel. This lead to her landing the leading role of JULIE.
Key Crew
Screenwriter Piper Werle
Cinematographer Gary Jaquez
First Assistant Director Kate Branom
Producer Ricky Rosario
Director Justin Joseph Hall
VOICE OF PROLOGUE
Prologue tells the story of a woman not being heard by a loved one about her wants and needs. The gaslighting our character deals with is a symptom of a problem that can lead to women's - and human - rights being trampled on in bigger ways, like this.
Piper Werle (she/her/hers) is an Activist, Screenwriter, Playwright, and Producer. Her self-produced short Veronica was released in 2020. She has developed plays with the Actor's Studio (East), Ugly Rhino, and the 24 Hour Plays.
In addition to writing, she has a background in education and development, and has worked at the O'Brien School for the Maasai in Tanzania. Piper is a graduate of SMU's Meadows School of the Arts.
She worked as so many crew members on Prologue including Casting Director and Production Designer in addition to Writer.
Photographer - Daria Huxley
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Set for release in 2019, we're currently seeking partners in funding, and distribution.
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