Hold Up

Her day can't get any worse. Then she meets Him in a dark alley. That's when things get interesting.

  • Alex Kaplan
    Director
    Shoe, Partners, Day 94, Bandaids, Trapped
  • Amy V Morse
    Writer
    Green Juice, Close The Door, Thespian Lesbian, Sunsets, 5 Minutes, Crying Laughing Smiling Flying, Kids, My Top 5, Listen To Me, There's My Girl, Good Talk, Unfun
  • Brian Gallagher
    Writer
    No Means No, First Date, 11th Hour, The Good Voices, Irish Curse, Big Heater, Bar Fight, Spoonage, Masterclass - How to Wipe, Ardmore Junction.
  • Alex Kaplan
    Writer
    Shoe, Partners, Day 94, Bandaids, Trapped
  • Brian Gallagher
    Producer
    Shoe, First Date, 11th Hour, Partners, Day 94, Bandaids, The Good Voices, Trapped, Zombie Killers, Camp Dread, Booted, Ardmore Junction, No Means No, Masterclass - How to Wipe.
  • Alex Kaplan
    Producer
    Shoe, First Date, 11th Hour, Partners, Day 94, Badaids, The Good Voices, Trapped, Loose Ends
  • Amy V Morse
    Producer
    Trapped (associate producer), The Good Voices (associate producer)
  • Brian Gallagher
    Key Cast
    The Upside, Outsiders, How To Get Away With Murder, Aftermath
  • Amy V Morse
    Key Cast
    Pose, Person of Interest, Odd Mom Out, Transatlantic Coffee
  • Brian Anthony Wilson
    Key Cast
    Limitless, The Postman, Law Abiding Citizen, HBO's The Wire
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes 54 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 4, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    2,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    HDV
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.78 (16x9)
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Alex Kaplan

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Alex spent his undergraduate years at the University of Miami where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting in the conservatory theater program. He then acted professionally in New York for several years before returning to the Philly area where he is now the Executive Producer at Short Order Production House, making commercials, branded content, and short documentaries.

Alex recently made his narrative directorial debut with “Hold Up”, and soon after, formed his own company through which he has recently written and directed five more short films, slated for release in 2019.

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Director Statement

I met Brian and Amy several months after they had teamed up to write and produce their own web series. The main theme of their writing: "delightfully unexpected human connection."

They were doggedly moving forward on the inspiration of Arthur Ashe's famous motto: "Start where you are, Use what you have, Do what you can" ... which meant, given their limited resources, they were going to shoot their series alone, with no crew, on an iPhone.

Well, I liked them and their writing and I sensed the possibility for a real creative partnership. AND I knew we could do much better than an iPhone.

They had 10 episodes written. I suggested we focus on just One, and make it into a super high production value short film. Working at a production house and having close relationships with talented professionals eager to hop on a fun, creative project, I was able to gather incredible resources at very little cost. We chose the script that had the best legs and honed it and shaped it until it was as tight as possible.

Then, on back to back nights, in the sweltering heat of July, with rain threatening every moment, racing against the 5:39am sunrise, over 20 achingly ambitious souls crammed into a grimy alley behind a movie theater ready to collaborate and see what we could make.

It was a sweaty, dirty, smoky, audacious, exhaustingly beautiful battle... and, at least in our minds, we won.

I love our team, our family. I love our little film. I hope you do too.