The Birth Of "REAL PRAYERS ARE SAID IN GERMAN"

A Note From Ann Hagemann

In the fall of 2015 when all Cubs fans thought "this would be the year," I wrote a Facebook post about my Father and how his love of baseball, the Cubs, music, and his strong German roots got him and his sisters through some very tough times during WWII after their father took ill...

SARAH DREW (ATTACHED)

Marsella Baumann

Filmography:
Grey’s Anatomy, Mistletoe Murders (Lead & EP), Jimmy (2026), multiple Hallmark & Lifetime movies

Marsella is the daughter of German immigrants, she is a hard-working mother, a traditional homemaker, but often works in the fields when her beloved Joseph needs help. When Joseph is diagnosed with TB and taken to a sanitarium, depression takes over and she withdraws from her children. Her mother, Pop'em, helps her see that even in the darkest of times we can choose to be happy.

THE BAUMANN FAMILY

Ruth - Age 13, Ruth is the eldest of the Baumann Children. She shares a common bond of Music with her Father Joseph and wins a spot to sing on a local radio program. When he becomes ill, she takes on the responsibilities of a 2nd Mother to her younger siblings and prays for the day when her family can once again be whole. While our story is told from all 3 Children’s point of view, it is Ruth and Billy who lead the way. 

Margie - Age 6, Margie loves playing with their farm dog Shep, collecting chicken feathers, and spending time with her Opa Hook. Feeling lost when her Daddy becomes ill, Margie’s Grandmother, Pop’em, arranges for her to take Accordion lessons and all soon realize they have a prodigy in their midst.

Billy - Age 10, the middle child and lover of baseball, the Chicago Cubs, and enemy of spiders. Billy uses baseball to cope with his Father’s illness, the Anti-German Sentiment they are victim to, and the poverty of wartime farming life.

Joseph - Joseph, mid to late 30s, is the son of German Immigrants, and like his Father, a farmer. With a family first attitude, he adores his wife and children. As a huge Chicago Cubs Fan, he’s often found playing baseball with his children in the fields and teaching them German Folk Songs. Even though Joseph and his family are victims of Anti-German sentiment, he encourages his children to be proud of their Heritage and to face adversity with courage and dignity. When Joseph is diagnosed with TB and taken to a sanitarium, his mission is to be reunited with his family.

Ann Hagemann

Pop’em

Filmography:
Love’s Second Act, Seniors, Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, Hannah Free

German Immigrant, maternal grandmother to our children and nicknamed so as she was always "popping" German pies and cakes in the oven. She is the call to action character of our story. While she can sometimes be a "bull in a china shop", she does so to help and protect her family.

ANN HAGEMANN

Story By / Producer / Actor

Acting Reel

Ann is a Producer/Actor/Writer and proud member of SAG-AFTRA/AEA, Women in Film and IFA Chicago (Fiscal Sponsor of Say It in German).

• Attached as Pop’em in “Say It in German.”

• Strong supporting role as Jodie Sweetin’s (Full House, Fuller House, Hallmark) Mom in “Love’s Second Act,” currently playing on Amazon Prime & the Great American Family app.

• “Seniors,” feature film, supporting role alongside stars John Rhys-Davies & Paris Brosnan, currently playing in theaters nationwide.

• “Trapped in the Cabin,” a Lifetime thriller, playing Tiffany Smith’s (Harry & Meghan, Guardians of the Galaxy) Mom. Streaming on the Lifetime app.

• “Wardcliffe,” a dark feature film, playing Joel McKinnon Miller’s (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Big Love) wife. Soon to be on Netflix.

• Co-Star on “Chicago Med” & “Chicago Fire.”

• Producer/Actor in the rom-com “Less Than 30” on Amazon Prime.

• Produced and starred opposite Eddie Steeples (My Name Is Earl) in the short “Farewell, Charlie.”

• Starred opposite Sharon Gless (Cagney & Lacey) in the feature film “Hannah Free,” which won Best Overall Feature at the Frameline Film Festival and many others.

• Creator and writer of the short stories “Real Prayers Are Said in German,” the basis for this project. These stories are based on true events from Ann’s dad’s childhood in Central Illinois during WWII.

Ann has been the recipient of numerous grants through the Illinois Arts Council’s Arts in Education program and the National Endowment of the Arts and performed her original one-woman show “From Pyramids to Video Games” at elementary schools throughout the Midwest. She has also shared the screen with Katherine Heigl, Grace Gummer & Alexis Bledel in “Jenny’s Wedding,” and with Dante’ Basco in “Asylum of Fear,” “Fall Away” & “I’m Coming Out.” Additional indie credits include “Manic,” “Fingerprints” and “Bob and Edgar.” Her many theatre credits include Eva Peron in “Evita,” Lady Macbeth in “Macbeth,” Mrs. Anna in “The King and I,” Eliza in “My Fair Lady,” and Catherine Holly in “Suddenly Last Summer,” to mention a few.

Ann worked with Stephen Ruminski on the short film “Belle,” the Belle Gunness story, in which she played the title role, and met Angela Morris while working on the indie film “Less Than 30.” She first met Joan Tankersley in 2017 at FilmCom and is proud to have these team members on board!

It is with Director Maggie Mahrt that Ann has had the longest relationship and knew that she was the kindred spirit needed to direct Say It in German. Maggie and Ann were both born and raised in Central Illinois, where our story originally took place and the location of principal photography. They’ve been friends and colleagues since 1994 when Ann cast Maggie as her “Ann with an E” in a stage production of Anne of Green Gables. Both studied Acting in College and while Ann moved forward with her career as a Producer/Actor/Writer, Maggie went on to Film school to pursue her true passion: Directing.   

Ann is also the author/composer of The Little House Story a youth musical based on the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She is also in development for a new series, Riding the Orphan Train, based on true events from the Orphan Train Movement, a supervised welfare program that transported orphaned and homeless children from crowded eastern cities of the US to foster homes located largely in rural areas of the Midwest. It operated between 1854 and 1929, relocating approx. 200,000 orphaned, abandoned, abused or homeless children. 

Say It in German (Originally titled Real Prayers Are Said In German), is based on true events in Ann’s beloved Father’s childhood growing up in the Midwest during WWII as a German American.  

STEPHEN RUMINSKI

Line Producer / UPM

Stephen Ruminski is a Chicago-based filmmaker. Originally born in Indiana, Stephen has been interested in filmmaking and storytelling since the age of 12.

• Stephen is a member of the Directors Guild of America and has worked on episodic TV & film as Line Producer, Unit Production Manager, Co-Producer and Location Coordinator.

• Location Coordinator for the series “Paper Girls,” available on Prime Video.

• UPM/Line Producer on the 2024 SXSW feature film selection “We Strangers,” directed by Anu Valia.

• Location Coordinator for the series “Fargo,” available on Hulu.

• UPM for “The Unseen” on Netflix, Prime Video & Disney+.

• Worked on the award-winning films “The Good Catholic” & “Ms. White Light,” both directed by Paul Shoulberg. “The Good Catholic” is playing on Prime Video and Apple TV+.

• Line Producer for “Christmas at the Zoo,” streaming on Tubi starting Nov. 10, 2026.

• Line Producer for “Exes of Christmas Past,” available on Prime Video, Pluto & Apple TV+.

• Co-Producer & Line Producer for “Christmas on the Ranch,” available on Hulu.

• Worked on the studio films “Candyman,” produced by Jordan Peele, and “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” directed by Aaron Sorkin.

• Writer/Director of the documentary “The Belle Gunness Mystery” and the narrative short “Belle,” both based on true events in the life of serial killer Belle Gunness.

• Stephen attended Flashpoint Academy in Chicago, IL.

“The Belle Gunness Mystery” has sold close to 1,000 DVDs and screened in Gunness’ native Norway; both it and “Belle” (starring Ann Hagemann) were filmed in Stephen’s hometown of La Porte, IN. As an Editor and Producer, Stephen has worked on the nationally broadcast “Onward” series for the University of Notre Dame and has attended two Olympic Games as part of the team that provides content for the venue video boards. His additional UPM/Line Producer credits include “Monuments” and “Christmas with Felicity,” directed by Jack C. Newell, and “The Duel,” directed by Luke Spencer and Justin Matthews.

Maggie Mahrt

Director

Demo Reel

Maggie is a natural born director, one with a deep passion for storytelling and world building.

• Maggie is a graduate of John Paul the Great Catholic University with a degree in film.

• Directed the feature film “O, Brawling Love,” now streaming on Amazon Prime.

• Directed the pilot “The Carpenter” for a new biblical series currently being developed & shopped.

• Partnering with Bank of America and Changing Lives GH, Maggie traveled to Accra, Ghana, to direct a commercial about the real impact being made for underprivileged kids there. Broadcasting soon.

• Was one of 10 directors selected for the Netflix ABQ Directors Workshop with Mo McRae.

• Maggie is in pre-production on a feature-length documentary, directing all its historical reenactments. Production begins Jan. 2027 in Madrid, Spain.

• Writing her feature film “Martha and the Dragon,” a project a decade in the making that is now finding its moment to reach the screen.

• Writer/Director of “Unbound,” which was selected for numerous Academy Award qualifying festivals and won Best Director, Sci-Fi/Fantasy & audience choice awards at HollyShorts. (Enjoy a cutting from this in Maggie’s Demo Reel above.)

​Inspired by such luminaries as Chaplin (for his comedic timing genius) and Fellini (for his singular POV), Maggie began to write and direct her very own theatrical works at a young age. She "cast" her siblings and neighborhood friends in these whimsical productions, which were often melodramatic musicals, her favorite childhood genre.

​After studying acting in college, Maggie spent the next four years starring in a one-woman drama, performing the world over. She then turned to the study of iconography, painting and commissioning numerous original works. Her exposure to that ancient art form trained her eye to understand the power of one frame and the language of color.​

These artistic experiences ultimately inspired Maggie to seek her place behind the camera. So off to film school she went! And it was there that her artistic loves converged, allowing her to discover her true calling -- directing.

Chosen as one of eight women to participate in AFI's prestigious Directing Workshop for Women in 2017, Maggie created the ambitious short film UNBOUND. It was selected for numerous Academy-Award-qualifying festivals, such as LA Shorts and HollyShorts, where it won Best Director, Sci-Fi/Fantasy and an audience choice award. UNBOUND was also awarded the coveted Emerging Cinematographers Award from ICG and screened at the illustrious Camerimage International Film Festival in Poland.

​Maggie was then selected to participate in the Fox Filmmakers Lab. There she had the opportunity to pitch a short film in the world of existing FOX franchises to head studio executives. As part of the inaugural year of the Ryan Murphy HALF TV Director Program, Maggie shadowed on the show FEUD. She has recently shadowed on the show UnREAL.

Throughout all of these opportunities, Maggie has continued to get closer to her goal of directing for television and film, becoming a go-to powerhouse in the ever-growing world of long-form storytelling. She has representation at The Gersh Agency and is managed at Zero Gravity

Angela Morris

Writer

Angela Morris is a writer, actress, and voiceover talent. Her first feature length screenplay, Less Than 30 (in which she also plays the lead), introduced her to Ann and led to this collaboration. My Best Girl, an award winning short film that Angela co-wrote and also acts in, can be viewed on Amazon and Indieflix. Her third feature film, Sin Sick is in development. Other film/TV credits include the feature Two in the Bush: A Love Story, NBC's Chicago Fire, Darius Dawson’s “Trash," and Chris Oliva’s “Spaceman.” Angela has performed in such theatres as The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., The Goodman Theatre, and The Gift Theatre. Angela can be heard in 2017 as Cassie, Faith, and Poppet in Perception, a video game by The Deep End Games. She also works as an Adjunct at Columbia College Chicago. www.AngelaMorris.net