Ethan Hawke described Prima dell'alba (1995) as a film about what might be, Prima del tramonto (2004) as a film about what could or should be, and Before Midnight (2013) as a film about what is.
Dedicated to the memory of Amy Lehrhaupt, the woman who was the inspiration for Prima dell'alba (1995). Richard Linklater had spent a night walking and talking around Philadelphia with her in 1989. Though initially they stayed in touch over the telephone, they lost contact eventually. In 1994, Linklater started shooting "Before Sunrise" and when the world premiere was about to take place, Linklater was secretly hoping that Amy would show up but she did not. Ten years later, Linklater shot the sequel Prima del tramonto (2004) and had yet to hear from Amy. Finally, in 2010, a friend of Amy's who knew about their story, contacted Linklater to tell him that Amy had died in a motorcycle accident on May 9, 1994 at the age of 24, only a few weeks before he started shooting Prima dell'alba (1995). Both Linklater and Hawke were devastated but found comfort in the inspiration for the Before Trilogy.
Although the movie features naturalistic dialogue, every scene was heavily rehearsed, rigidly followed the script and involved no improvisation.
Like "Before Sunset" before it, filmed in 15 days.
Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke have all agreed on interviews that the final thing that made them decide to make the movie was the fact that the three of them are parents and could know how to write that into the characters' lives.