Allo la France

A primer on proper phone manners produced for the New Zealand Post Office.

Telefonen ringer

Four children want to invite their friends to a picnic, but they don't know how to use the telephone. Suddenly, the room goes dark and the phone becomes large enough for them to climb into. They walk through a tunnel and meet a man named Telly, who takes them into the world of Telezonia, where they are shown various kinds of telephones. They meet several costumed characters, such as Question Mark, who teaches them how to answer the phone; Q and Z, who show them how to use the phone book; and Exclamation Point, who teaches them how to place a call. By the time they leave Telezonia, they are full-fledged telephone users.

A boy's dog has run off and, with the help of unfortunately named marionette Handy, the kid learns to use a telephone to find him.

The “Kindertelefoon” (Child Helpline) in the Netherlands provides a listening ear. One girl talks about being home alone virtually all week; another’s sad because her parents are getting divorced. A boy in an asylum seekers’ center is worried about the future, while another boy doesn’t want to be gay and hopes these feelings will pass. Every day, the Kindertelefoon takes calls like these from children who want someone to talk to. But children also call to talk about their pets, to practice their audition for The Voice Kids or to make pranks. The recordings of these phone conversations are accompanied by images that quite literally give color to the conversations, and that beautifully reflect their tone—sometimes hilarious or naughty, but more often sad or heartrending.

Promotional film introducing self-service long-distance dialing using a prototype service in Englewood, New Jersey. Demonstrates how direct dial and the new area code system enable callers to make contact instantly without operator assistance.

The story of how the mobile phone was created and how it changed everything.

A cassette tape with messages was found inside a used answering machine. Through these calls, we learn the story of Enrique and María Teresa: a woman waiting for a call from a man who never answers. Ten years later, this short film is based on this completely authentic audio recording.

A student's increasingly intimate line of questioning causes his interview with a local horror host to take a vulnerable turn.

Faced with an assignment to film something personal, Cem begins a quiet search for what that really means. A casual conversation with a close friend leads him to turn the camera toward the people who already shape his life. Through moments with his grandmother, spontaneous talks about family, and reflections on his dream of becoming a filmmaker, MozikMoro slowly transforms into a portrait of connection and self discovery. Between the ordinary and the intimate, Cem captures a world that is both deeply personal and universally human.

A young David Jason tries and fails to master sales calls.

To call or not to call? For young Cora it's not a question. In fact, after the first date you may never call the guy, even if it was the best sex of your life! It's him who must beg for a meeting - and not later than 72 hours after. Otherwise - delete it from memory.

The age-old battle between man and answering machine wages on as John attempts to record the perfect outgoing message.

Two different but strangely complementary young women living together are pictured in a fragmented and non-linear narrative about incommunicability and alienation.

Journalist Rachel Keller investigates a strange videotape that may be behind the untimely deaths of four teenagers. There is an urban legend about this tape: the viewer will die seven days after watching it. Rachel tracks down the video... and watches it. Now she has just seven days to unravel the mystery of the Ring in order to save herself and her son.

An accident leads to a night of torment.

A young man receives an emergency phone call on his cell phone from an older woman. She claims to have been kidnapped – and the kidnappers have targeted her husband and child next.

A man discovers that his voice assistant has a life of its own.

Rookie police officer Jessica Loren has been assigned the last shift at a closing police station and must wait for a hazmat crew to collect biomedical evidence. Ordered not to leave the station under any circumstances, Jessica comes to learn that it's more than just an outdated station, it's home to the ultimate embodiment of evil and his devoted bloodthirsty followers. Jessica is left to fend for herself in the Devil's playground.

It's just another day at the Granite Hotel.