On Hold

An office worker wearing a yellow striped cardigan and black pants, sitting at her desk with a black headset on, looking to her right with a surprised or confused expression. Her desk has office supplies including a black telephone, colorful pens in a teal holder, a patterned cup, and papers. Behind her is a background with a desktop computer, a whiteboard with photos and notes, and orange and teal office partitions.

On Hold is an original musical film written and directed by Jake, about a low-level call centre employee named Gabby Stencil. Despite loathing her job at Viscorp, she is kept afloat by her dream of one day working as a musical composer. Her dream is mocked and discouraged by all her fellow employees, save for Bryan - an older divorcee who chose the safe, domestic life and has since lived to regret it. In the course of one day, Gabby is offered a promotion at Viscorp and receives a rejection letter for her most recent composition. She must decide between a safe job and discovering where her true happiness lies... by singing it out.

On Hold won the Academy® Accredited Virgin Australia Award for Best Australian Short Film at Flickerfest (2018), was a finalist in the Dendy Awards at the Sydney Film Festival (2018), and was an Academy qualifying film for the 2019 Academy Awards®. It appeared on Virgin In-Flight Entertainment and was translated into Italian for its live European Premier by Bologna-based production company Tweet Charity in 2022.

Award certificate for the 27th Flickerfest International Short Film Festival, 2018, acknowledging best Australian short film, accredited by the Academy.

Gray and white award plaque with laurel leaves and text indicating finalist recognition at the Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films at the Sydney Film Festival in 2018.

“Take a bow Jake Nielsen and Matthew Predny, you’ve gone and done it. Bravo to the whole team behind On Hold for making musicals cool again!”

Fashion Industry Broadcast