Allo la France

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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 lonely woman's prank phone call leads to an unexpected friendship with a grieving widow.