2010/narrative/85 min.
HOLD is a tense, spare, and lean drama about a young couple's relationship in the aftermath of a violent home invasion.
Filmed in long takes with claustrophobic closeups that frequently break the fourth wall, it investigates the frailty of the hero complex by putting a microscope on white American paranoia of “the other.” It is ultimately a film about a man who learns to cry.
HOLD was featured on NPR and GOOD MORNING TEXAS, and proclaimed "one of the best films of the year" (CINEMALOGUE), "slyly subversive" (KEYFRAME), "bold, stark, and unflinching" (UK CINEHOUSE), and "a thoughtful, engaging film that will make you think long past its 85 minutes” (STEPHENVILLE EMPIRE TRIBUNE).
FW WEEKLY wrote: “HOLD is a powerful minimalist drama about thwarted communication and regret. Scrupulous and humane… with unsettlingly perceptive performances.” And D MAGAZINE wrote: “It gets at that ineffable feeling that, after certain kinds of suffering, there is no returning to the person you were before.”
It is now streaming on Kinoscope , Tubi, Fandor, and Amazon Prime.
Starring Robby Storey, Stephanie Rhodes, Jodie Moore, Andrew Sensenig, Jeri Smith, Steven Markel, and Jack Elliott. Written by Robby Storey.
SCREENINGS:
-2010 Dallas International Film Festival (World Premiere - The Texas Competition)
-2010 Litchfield Hills International Film Festival, Kent, CT - Winner - The Sleeping Giant Award
-2010 Glen Rose Neo-Relix Film Festival, Glen Rose, TX. -Winner - The Audience Award (feature)
-2010 Langdon Review of the Arts in Texas (Tarleton University, TX) *Only film inclusion in the annual published journal.
THEATRICAL PREMIERES:
-ReRun Gastro-Pub Theater (Brooklyn, NYC, 2011) -Q&A with filmmaker/critic Michael Tully
-The Historic Texas Theatre (Oak Cliff, TX, 2011) -Q&A with filmmaker Eric Steele