Please Hold the Line

The worldwide use of means of communication such as the telephone, television, and internet is still growing rapidly. Cable companies and telecom providers are working hard to connect everyone to their networks, including people living in remote villages in the countryside. Please Hold the Line follows telecom engineers in a number of Eastern European countries during their visits to customers. The technicians connect televisions, repair fax machines, or climb on rickety roofs and up telephone poles to install the necessary equipment. This results in some remarkable encounters and conversations in which both engineers and customers tell their stories while their devices are constantly emitting sounds and news reports in the background. We are shown how these modern means of communication are welcome as a window to the world. But at the same time a certain degree of loneliness and a longing for “real” connection is revealed. Calm sequences of carefully framed shots tell a larger story about the essence of communication. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)