Poikien puhelin

Nominated for

Best Short Documentary

Directed by

Laura Rantanen

20' • Finland • 2020

Language: 

Finnish

Did you know puberty lasts forever? On Hold is an experimental documentary short film contemplating around the themes of intergenerationality and socially constructed masculinity. The film is based on anonymous phone calls dialed for a helpline for boys and young men under 20-years of age. The film asks which are the attitudes, values and emotions we inherit from the generations before and pass on to the generations after us. On Hold visualizes every child’s need to be heard and claws space for empathy.

Director's Bio: Laura Rantanen is a documentary film director with a study background in social and cultural anthropology. In her work Rantanen is interested in studying power structures and relations between human and non-human entities. Her bachelor graduation documentary Liminality and Communitas has been screened in over 15 festivals including Guanajuato International Film Festival, Interfilm Berlin International Short Film Festival and Zinebi International Film Festival. The film was also awarded with Silver Lynx Award for Best Documentary in Film Competition in FEST, New Directors New Films -Festival 2019.