
Before Anything You Say
Producer/Director 2016
Darkling Pictures Inc.
Writer / Deborah Schnitzer
Feature Film/ Drama / Colour
Weaving through Paris and Winnipeg, a married couple struggle to maintain their love and marriage even as a life-altering decision threatens to tear them apart.
When Isobel’s husband Jack announces his intent to pursue a job that would require him to live in Bangkok for five years working against human trafficking, he assumes she will follow, leaving her life and career behind. However, Isobel is not prepared to follow blindly. Hurt and feeling misunderstood by one other, they attempt to reconcile their lives and love in Paris while Jack attends business meetings and in their dream home in Winnipeg. Both struggle with a desire to care for others without being aware of their inability to care for each other, refusing to give up despite themselves and despite the world around them.
Screening in Competition:
- Official selection Madrid International Film Festival, Madrid, Spain, July 2017
- Official selection, International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema BERLIN, Berlin, Germany, September/October 2017
- La Femme International Film Festival, Los Angeles, USA, October 2017
- Official selection, International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema MILAN, Milan, Italy, November / December 2017
- Official selection, London International Filmmaker Festival, London, UK , February 2018
- Official selection, Nice International Film Festival, Nice, France, May 2018
- Official selection, Gimli Film Festival, Gimli, Manitoba, July, 2018
- Official selection, Amsterdam International Film Festival, Amsterdam, Netherlands, August, 2018
Awards:
- Best Editing of a Feature Film, MADRID International Film Festival, Madrid, Spain, July 2017
- Best Lead Actress of a Feature Film, International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema BERLIN, Berlin, Germany, September/October 2017
- Best Director of a Feature Film and Best Cinematography of a Feature Film, International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema MILAN, Milan, Italy, November / December 2017
- The Best Manitoba Director Award, presented by the Directors Guild of Canada, Manitoba District Council, for Before Anything You Say, Gimli Film Festival, July 2018
Now a finalist in three categories at the 2020 Beyond The Curve International Film Festival in Paris!
Best Director: Shelagh Carter
Best Actress: Kristen Harris
Best Editor: Chad Tremblay

Directed & Produced by
Shelagh Carter
Written by
Deborah Schnitzer
Starring
Kristen Harris
Darcy Fehr
Executive Producer
Bill Connington
Associate Producer
Robert Dassanowsky
Cinematographer
Ousama Rawi, B.S.C., C.S.C.
Production Designer
Taavo Soodor
Edited by
Chad Tremblay
Sound Editor
Eric van Mil
Colourist/Digital Effects
Julian van Mil
Original Music/Composer
Keri Latimer
Production Coordinator
Wren Brian
Assistant Director
Daniel Lavoie
Second Assistant Director
Liliane Lavack
Copyright ©2016 Darkling Pictures