Leslie Ann Coles dedicated 18 years to Dance Theatre as a choreographer and modern dancer prior to transitioning into film in 1999. Her debut film, “In The Refrigerator” (funded by the Canada Council for the Arts), was selected in 35 independent international film festivals, and garnered 13 international awards for “Best Picture”, “Best Actress”, “Best Short Film”, “Best Film”, “Best Debut Filmmaker”, “Best Avant Garde”, and the Grand Jury Award: “Filmmaker In an Acting Role.” Following a successful run in the festival circuit, In The Refrigerator was invited to screen before the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for nomination for Best Short Live Action in 2001.
In 2001, Leslie Ann Founded The Female Eye Film Festival (FeFF) having noted an absence of women directors in attendance at the various int. film festivals. The Female Eye is Canada’s one and only annual competitive international independent women director’s film festivals. The FeFF has been recognized for five consecutive years as one of the “Top Fifty Film Festivals in the World Worthy of The Entry Fee” by Movie Maker Magazine (Santa Monica, CA). As FeFF’s Executive and Artistic Director she’s mentored aspiring female filmmakers producing forty-six short Super 8 experimental films, 26 involved First Nations youth which have premiered at Female Eye. Her innovative, and socially reflective leadership continues to inspire The Female Eye which celebrates its 16th edition, June 19th-24, 2018 while informing her own work as a independent filmmaker.
MELODY MAKERS marks her debit feature documentary.