Private Project

The Curtain

Mother-daughter tensions bind one generation to the next in a seedy motel room, where love, sex, and a wish for redemption lurk beyond the curtain when Beatrice, 50, is confronted with her own mortality. She revisits an old haunt from her childhood to reconcile herself with those she loves, evoking the memory of her mother following a mastectomy.

  • Leslie-Ann Coles
    Director
    Melody Makers; In The Refrigerator; My Life, My Community, My Ontario
  • Leslie-Ann Coles
    Writer
    Melody Makers; In The Refrigerator; My Life, My Community, My Life, My Community, My Ontario
  • Leslie-Ann Coles
    Producer
    Shkozin "Awaken," Melody Makers; In The Refrigerator; My Life, My Community, My Ontario
  • Bill MacDonald
    Key Cast
    "John"
    A History of Violence; Nightmare Alley; Paradise Falls; The Long Kiss Goodnight
  • Beth Hornby
    Key Cast
    "Stephanie"
    Start Track: Strange New Worlds; Brother; The Handmaids Tale
  • Imogen Whist
    Key Cast
    "Kate"
    Breaking the Silence; Collide; In The Refrigerator
  • Sean Jones
    Key Cast
    "Paul"
    Spiral; Gotham Knights; Noel Next Door; Fallen Angels Murder Club: Friends to Die For
  • Matthew Powell
    Key Cast
    "Motel Manager"
    An Unexpected Killer; The Darkness of Faith; Fallen AngelsMurder Club: Friends to Die For
  • Delaney Tomchick
    Key Cast
    "Young Beatrice"
  • Leslie-Ann Coles
    Key Cast
    "Beatrice"
    A Last Push For Love; The Coroner; Designated Survivor; In The Refrigerator; Godsend; Tea With Mother; Godsend; Death and the Housewife
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes 11 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 21, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    48,560 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Super 16 and HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16.9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Leslie-Ann Coles

Leslie-Ann Coles is an alumna of Women In the Directors Chair who works with scripted and unscripted material. As a writer and director, Coles enjoys compelling, character-driven stories in both fiction and unscripted projects and gravitates to realism and nuanced characters. When working with scripted material, she understands the actors’ artistic processes intuitively, having trained and worked as an actor.

The Curtain,” which she wrote, produced, and directed was funded by the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Ontario Arts Council. It was produced with the support of the Writers Guild of Canada and ACTRA Toronto. "The Curtain" won the WeSCREENShorts Screenplay Finalist Award.

Most recently Coles received a scholarship and Honourable Mention from the Law Firm of Stacey A. Davis at the Stowe Story Lab for her feature screenplay “Soiled Dove" which received development from Telefilm Canada along with support of her other feature, “Love in Vein.” “Soiled Dove” is also on Coverfly’s red list, having garnered numerous accolades, and is the winner of 12 finalist international screenwriting awards; “Love in Vein” is going into first draft.

Her multi-award-winning feature documentary “Melody Makers” – and companion interactive digital media (IDM) – which she wrote, produced, and directed, was released in 2019 with the support of Telefilm Canada. “Melody Makers” was originally licensed by CBC’s Documentary Channel.

Formerly a modern dancer/choreographer of 18 years, Coles is an alumna of the Women in the Director’s Chair program (WIDC), a member of ACTRA Toronto, and a new member of the Directors Guild of Canada and the Writers Guild of Canada.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Fascinated by the folklore of roadside motels built for motorists in the 1920's, I contemplated a story that could unfold over the course of one day in a motel room. This inspired an intergenerational story about breast cancer, love, and reconciliation.

The Curtain was filmed on digital and a vintage Super 16 Bolex camera blending analogue film, photography, and sound. As with my previous films, the production crew are all women, non-binary or female-identifying.

The screenplay won a short script competition at a WeScreenplay Short Script Screenwriting Lab, and was fully funded by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.