Lauren Melinda’s Before You is a rare film, not because of its subject matter, but because of the way it approaches it. Abortion has long been flattened into a political talking point, a culture-war battleground where nuance is collateral damage. What Melinda does instead is return the experience to the people who actually live it. Drawing from her own life, she crafts a film that refuses spectacle and instead embraces stillness, grief, and the often-unseen interiority of reproductive loss.

A Story Told in the Quiet Places

At its core, Before You follows a couple in the wake of ending a planned pregnancy, a scenario often ignored in public discourse, where abortion is frequently portrayed only in extreme hypotheticals or political abstractions. Melinda treats the subject with restraint, trusting emotional truth over melodrama. The result is a portrait of grief that whispers instead of shouts, capturing the subtle ruptures a life can endure and the private reckonings that follow.

The film’s power lies not in what is said, but in what is allowed to linger. Silence becomes a character, small gestures become confessions. In giving space to the unspoken, Melinda asserts that this grief, like all grief, is worthy of attention and care.

Performances That Ground the Film

Tala Ashe delivers a quietly shattering performance, embodying a woman navigating sorrow that has no socially sanctioned script. Her emotional precision invites audiences not to judge her but to witness her. Opposite her, Adam Rodriguez brings a steady, aching warmth, portraying a partner who is present yet unsure, supportive yet grieving in his own way. Together, they create a cinematic relationship that feels lived-in, tender, and painfully human.

Moving Beyond Politics

Melinda’s collaboration with Planned Parenthood Federation of America underscores the film’s mission, to shift the conversation from ideology to humanity. Before You isn’t a debate, it’s an invitation, to sit with complexity, to acknowledge the vast spectrum of experiences around abortion, and to see the people who rarely find their stories reflected back to them.

This intention extends off-screen. Post-film conversations hosted with Planned Parenthood chapters in Missouri, Idaho, and Birmingham create community around experiences often carried privately. They bridge isolation with dialogue, offering viewers a space to process both the film and themselves.

A Festival Run Marked by Recognition

The film has already resonated widely, earning slots at major festivals including the Oscar-qualifying St. Louis International Film Festival, the Cleveland International Film Festival, deadCenter, and Film Independent’s Artist Development Showcase. Melinda’s receipt of the Chaz Ebert Phenomenal Person in Film Award, along with honors for cinematography and editing, speaks to the film’s artistic rigor as much as its emotional resonance.

Simbelle Productions and an Expanding Creative Universe

As Simbelle Productions’ first in-house project, Before You signals the nonprofit’s commitment to emotionally bold, socially impactful storytelling from women filmmakers. Their recent roster, from Sarah Friedland’s Familiar Touch to Sophy Romvari’s Blue Heron and Alex Burunova’s Satisfaction, positions Simbelle as a growing force championing female-led cinema.

Melinda’s parallel photography project deepens the film’s reach, inviting individuals to express their own reproductive experiences through visual art. This initiative extends the film’s ethos, transforming personal stories into shared testimony, healing, and visibility.

Why Before You Matters, Especially in an Oscar Season

As Before You enters its Oscar campaign, the film’s significance feels especially urgent. Awards conversations often gravitate toward spectacle, scale, or political flashpoints, yet Melinda offers something braver: a work that insists on humanity over rhetoric. Its potential journey toward the Academy Awards highlights not only the film’s artistic merit, but also the cultural hunger for stories that approach reproductive experiences with compassion instead of judgment.

In a moment where reproductive autonomy is contested at every turn, Before You offers a reminder that behind every statistic is a story, and behind every story is a person. By refusing to sensationalize or simplify, Melinda creates a film that honors lived experience with uncommon gentleness.

It’s not a film about politics, though its existence is inherently political. It’s a film about humanity, about love, loss, partnership, and the fragile spaces in between. And as the campaign grows through intimate screenings, community partnerships, and national conversations, the film’s reach continues to widen far beyond its runtime.

Before You doesn’t argue. It listens. And in doing so, it gives voice to countless others who have carried their truth in silence.