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BEFORE YOU KNOW IT

Year 2019
Runtime 98 mins
Alberta Premiere

A long-kept family secret thrusts codependent, thirty-something sisters Rachel and Jackie Gurner into a literal soap opera.


Stage manager Rachel Gurner — along with her off-kilter actress sister, Jackie; eccentric playwright father Mel; and deadpan preteen niece Dodge — still lives in her childhood apartment, above the tiny theatre owned and operated by her family. While level-headed Rachel may be the only thing standing between her family and utter chaos, in the wake of a sudden tragedy, Rachel and Jackie learn their presumed-deceased mother is actually ALIVE and thriving as a soap-opera star! Now the sisters’ already-precarious balance turns upside down, and Rachel must figure out how to liberate herself from this surreal imbroglio.

Co-writer/director/star Hannah Pearl Utt is a triple threat of comedic splendor. With her impeccable sense of timing and a flair for juxtaposing unpredictable elements, she's ably supported by Jen Tullock, Mandy Patinkin, Alec Baldwin, and the irresistible Judith Light. Equal parts madcap comedy, adult coming-of-age story, and poignant drama, BEFORE YOU KNOW IT gleefully defies categorization, and that is its genius.

Countries

United States
Director
Hannah Pearl Utt
Producer
Mallory Schwart, Josh Hetzler, James Brown
Screenwriter
Hannah Pearl Utt, Jen Tullock
Cinematographer
Jon Keng
Editor
Kent Kincannon
Cast
Hannah Pearl Utt, Jen Tullock, Judith Light, Mandy Patinkin, Alec Baldwin