Synopsis
A young scam call operator is thrust into a moral dilemma as she navigates a life-changing situation.
Tan Ceding
Tan Ce Ding is a Malaysia-based filmmaker who works as a Director and Writer. He is an alumnus of the Asian Film Academy where he won the Motion Picture Association President's Special Recognition Award. His short film THE MASSEUSE is acquired by Hollywood powerhouse Miramax Studio, to be developed into a feature film. In 2022, he directed and wrote his latest short film PLEASE HOLD THE LINE, which had its World Premiere in the 79th Venice Film Festival.
Director's statement
Malaysia has one of the highest rates of scam calls in the world, numbering over 90 million scam calls a year. Even with a population that’s one third of that amount, the multilingual nature of Malaysians results in the nation being a massive contributor to that statistic.As a Malaysian, I’ve been on the receiving end of scam calls. Part of me couldn’t help but feel curious — what is it like on the other end of the call?I wanted to shed light on scam calling, but instead of taking a moral stance on the issue, I wish to dive deeper on how is it like for the scam callers. Beneath the exterior of heartless, manipulative voice, actually lies another human being like you and me. PLEASE HOLD THE LINE is ultimately a story about communication. It looks at the irony of how commonplace it is for people to connect and network with those outside, while simultaneously struggling to connect with their loved ones at home.
