Prelude

Three entities change the rules to a game bigger than themselves.

Prelude was my first independent film at NYU. After required Sight and Sound courses, I skipped the traditional junior and senior production classes and chose instead to make projects outside of school. Big Mike Sangiamo and I had been trying to make the film for a couple of years, then called The Devil You Don’t Know. We were influenced by Lost, history, mythology, and questions about the origins of humanity and religion. I wanted the film driven by performance, ambiguity, and ideas rather than spectacle. From deciding to adapt the script to wrapping production took about one month. We spent most of that time casting and rehearsing our three actors. I had planned a more elaborate visual approach, but budget, crew limitations, and the weight of the original ARRI Alexa forced me to rethink much of the film during our single-day shoot. Post-production is where Prelude truly found itself. I created a detailed cut list from the script, tracking the strongest performances and camera choices, and worked closely with our editor, Brian, for nearly ten months before picture lock. Joanna built the soundscape, Joseph Bartolozzi composed the score, and Jason Crump at Metropolis Post completed the color. By the time the film was finished, I had lost perspective on it. I wondered if it was too slow, too philosophical, too much like theater captured on film. Even in 2012, I could feel attention shifting toward faster, more immediate entertainment. Writing this in 2026, I barely remember the flaws that once consumed me. What I see now is the intention. I am incredibly proud of Prelude and believe it does justice to what I wanted to make. The film taught me that directing is not simply executing a plan. It is protecting the idea underneath the plan when everything else changes. Prelude was also the first project where I recognized my voice as a filmmaker, rooted in ambiguity, belief, systems, power, and humanity. That philosophy later became part of the foundation for nukhu.