Screening — Sixteen Film Institute, A new home for independent cinema

Please Hold The Line

Directed by Tan Ce Ding
2022 • Malaysia • 18min

A young scam call operator is thrust into a moral dilemma as she frantically hustles for money to afford an abortion.

A scam call operator is pregnant. She is decided to make abortion but it is far to be so simple. The help offered by a mate is conditioned by money who she has not. The illusion to use the resource of a client fails and her boss is far to be indulgent about her need of money.
The pressure of her innocent father, interested about good state of her daughter is other obstacle.
In bus, to hospital, in wish to preserve the secret of pregnancy , she makes last try to obtain money. But the moral conscience wins.
A film about loneliness, cold - brutal reality and effort to solve a delicate problem with impact about entire life.

As an alumnus of the renowned Asian Film Academy (AFA), Ce Ding made his TVC directorial debut at the ripe age of 23 and never looked back. His directing talent made him incredibly sought after by iconic brands such as Samsung, Digi, TM, Astro, CIMB, Axiata, Honda, Perodua and many more. Ce Ding’s short film ‘Hawa’ won the Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay Award in the BMW Shorties 2016, the most prestigious and longest running short film festival in Malaysia. His following short film, “The Masseuse” had its online premiere on DUST, the biggest Sci-Fi YouTube channel. The short film has then generated 1 million organic views on YouTube within 2 weeks. The Masseuse’s rights is then acquired by Hollywood powerhouse Miramax Studio, to be developed into a feature film. In 2022, he written and directed his latest short film "Please Hold the Line”. The short film received international acclaim and had its World Premiere in the 79th Venice Film Festival, one of the TOP 3 most influential and largest film festivals in the world. From production house to advertising agency, his phenomenal expertise as a director coupled with his tremendous wealth of experience in the advertising filmmaking industry grants him fresh, encompassing and distinctive perspectives on the entire production process.