Curtains: A THREE-TIME “BEST COMEDY” AWARD WINNING SHORT
Following its premiere at the L.A. Shorts International Film Festival, our short film Curtains went on to screen at more than two dozen festivals — taking home three “Best Comedy” awards and “Best Actor” win for Brendan Dowling for his portrayal of Peter Fleming, an embattled avant-garde theatre director who refuses to compromise his artistic integrity no matter the cost.
The 25 minute-short — written, directed and produced by ideafarmfilms principals Gar and Beth Hoover — was done on a shoestring budget to showcase the world and main character of a series project of the same name that we were pitching at the time.
We were surprised, frankly, that our cheeky little narrative about a die-hard purist in a sellout world — Peter — would end up touching so many people.
The film received multiple wins and award nominations, including Best Cinematic Writing, Best Short Narrative, Best Trailer and Best Supporting Actor for the film’s co-star Chris Woolsey, playing the combative journalist tasked with documenting the rise and fall of Subcutaneous Theatre.
SOME BACKGROUND
"Curtains" captures the rise and fall of Peter Fleming, avant-garde legend and one-time bad boy of Cleveland's experimental arts scene.
The controversial co-founder and artistic director of Subcutaneous Theatre, Peter had been struggling with mounting legal and financial problems when he became the focus of an in-depth Cleveland Plain Dealer story — in Peter's words, a hit piece — on the once-hot artist's fall from grace.
That was the setup for the short.
The short was created to introduce a series we were developing at the time about a struggling fringe theatre, with Peter as the lead. Peter, who first appeared in a feature of ours, was such a powerful presence in that project that he had to be pulled out because he overwhelmed the leads.
We loved Peter because he did not give a fuck what anyone thought.
He was determined to challenge local audiences with “subversive” work designed to make uncomfortable any and all theatergoers expecting to be entertained. His manifesto, signed in blood and hung on the dressing room fridge, read:
"We are artists! Provocateurs! Not whores pandering to the base tastes of the middling classes! Subcutaneous Theatre exists for one purpose and one purpose only: to get under the skin of our audiences and fester there, like a boil, ultimately bursting forth with the putrid pus of truth!"
Below are some behind-the-scenes moments from the shoot, which took place in the dingiest, most dilapidated dressing room we could find. Thanks, Timeline Theatre. Also below are stills of some of the controversial works that ultimately got Subcutaneous Theatre shut down.
Our two production assistants and former students Connor Lane and Jack Curtain. These guys are the two best PAs who ever caught some ZZZs between takes. Both of them can write and make movies — including the surreal dark comedy, "200,000 Birthdays," which we won’t even try to describe here.
Brendan Dowling, as Peter Fleming, getting prepped. Brendan played Peter entirely in front of a dressing mirror removing Kabuki makeup, an extended bit of business designed to reveal the true Peter within. Brendan, a veteran of the famous Improvised Shakespeare Company, brought something really special to this character — ultimately winning a Best Actor award for his performance.
VIRGIN MARY Having discovered that her boyfriend slept around on her, a chaste young woman announces to the men in the bar that she wants to lose her virginity and that she’s open to all comers.
FRUIT TINGLE Just weeks from tying the knot to a bridezilla, a groom-to-be meets a stranger who causes him to re-think everything — including his fiancee’s meticulously laid wedding plans.
A STIFF DICK For his 50th birthday, a husband trapped in a sexless marriage decides to treat himself to some "strange”. Little does the call girl know, things are about to get very strange indeed.
COOL BREEZE Against all odds, a forty-something barfly who makes a clumsy play for the hottest woman in the bar manages to charm her. Too bad for him she’s not into dudes.
VAMPIRE’S KISS When an aging glam metal rocker, in town on tour, reconnects with his sixteen-year-old daughter, their reunion soon gives way to a demand: It’s time for him to become the father she never had.
SEX ON THE BEACH As a novitiate, a young nun-in-training shared an illicit and magical night with a with a handsome seminarian. Eight years later, she wants another bite of the apple.
MILK OF AMNESIA When a lit student reveals to her instructor that her sexually explicit story was not fiction at all but a factual account of the night they spent together, she’s gaslit into believing the tryst was all in her head.
The stories are bookended by a night-shift romance that blooms between the two Cuban immigrants (Bianca & Miguel) who clean the bar after hours.
Bianca is no-nonsense, hard-working — focused on doing what she has to do to make a life for herself in America. Miguel, by contrast, is outgoing and gregarious, a lover of life who’s eager to connect with others, especially pretty girls.
Their series of encounters — centered around Bianca’s sustained rejection of Miguel’s advances — play as intros and outros to the core narratives, knitting them together into a cohesive whole and culminating in a magical mambo dream sequence that plays under the ending credits.
Miguel and Bianca’s romance plays as interstitial material that knits the seven core stories into a cohesive whole.
Bernard’s Bar
There’s something really special about this bar. It’s quiet. A bit off the beaten path. It’s a cozy place for a relaxed drink served by discreet bartenders who always seem to know what you want before you order it. A place where hotel patrons and locals can always expect attentive bar service, along with the convenience of guest rooms being available just upstairs.
The vibe changes night by night depending on whose story is being told. The hooker who’s so sure of herself. So confident her trick is gonna be easy money. Unaware that tonight it’s she who’s the mark. Or the libidinous nun intent on getting a former lover (a parish priest) up to her room for one last fling.
Each vignette brings a unique something to the night. Each arriving with its own tone. Sparkling. Smoky. Bittersweet. Each blending laugh-out-loud moments with heartfelt beats, each with their own emotional kick and unexpected O. Henry style payoffs — featuring characters that feel like people we know. The questioning groom-to-be. The hopeful romantic. The lovable disaster.
PRODUCTION / budget CONSIDERATIONS
Love & Tonic is an indie feature specifically designed to be executed on a modest budget. One location. Short shoot schedule. No sprawling logistics. Just actors, camera, and pure story. The film’s intimacy and performance-forward model make it ideal for securing name talent in focused roles (as few as two-day commitments) — and delivering a prestige product on an indie scale.
For a read, email Gar at garandbeth@gmail.com. Meantime, below are the first several pages of the opener, Virgin Mary.
