Please Hold

An experimental documentary engaging with decades of DIY activist media, two death bed/legacy videos, and the wisdom of many living AIDS workers, as we all sit together in one (changing) format, video—VHS, hi-8, digital, Zoom—to address these and other questions: How do neighborhoods, sweaters and scarves, videotapes and queer bars hold ghosts? How do we let them go?

Directed by Alexandra Juhasz, Please Hold leans on a strong ensemble — James Robert Lamb, Juanita Mohammed Szczepanski, Jih-Fei Cheng — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about documentary titles of 2025.