Before the Last Curtain Falls

In 2010, the Belgian choreographer Alain Platel asked a number of older drag queens and trans cabaret artists if they wanted to perform onstage for one last time in his piece , which became a global success. In the final show, this colorful group bids farewell to life in the spotlight and, most importantly of all, to one another. Once the tour is over they try to reshape their daily lives, and this documentary follows some of them: cleaning a brothel, conversing with pets, taking piano lessons. The film intercuts stylized shots from with interviews in which the former performers talk about the choices they made, going against the grain of conventions in order to become themselves. The enormous contrast between their outrageous performances onstage and their vulnerability when the stage lights are dimmed offers some unsettling but multifaceted insight into this group of remarkable individuals. They attest to the desire to be themselves, to the courage to fight for that right, and to the fear of loneliness and physical decline. And they never give up their eternal search for love and happiness.