Private Project

Please Hold

When a condom breaks during a random hook-up with a stranger, Danny gets an HIV test and an unexpected new friend.

  • Jerell Rosales
    Director
  • Jerell Rosales
    Writer
  • Aaron Edmonds
    Producer
  • Travis Marshall
    Producer
  • Mike Ball
    Key Cast
  • Ben Warner
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    March 1, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    15,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • Denver Film Festival
    Denver, CO
    United States
    November 5, 2016
    World Premiere
    TBD
Director Biography - Jerell Rosales

Jerell Rosales directed the TV movie High School Lover, starring Lana Condor, François Arnaud and James Franco that premiered on Lifetime/A&E Networks in 2017. He’s a HUMANITAS Prize award-winning screenwriter, a Film Independent Project:Involve fellow, and a festival favorite whose seven short films have garnered numerous awards and have played in 95+ film festivals worldwide. Rosales is best known for his diverse character-driven stories centered on young adults and is currently adapting a YA novel, Where You Are, by J.H. Trumble. A proud Filipino-American, Asian American and LGBTQ+ filmmaker, Rosales holds an MFA in Writing/Directing from UCLA and teaches directing classes at UCLA Extension.

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Director Statement

ESSENCE/THEMES
At its essence, the film explores the thematic conflicts of blame versus acceptance. Being gay and Catholic, I’ve faced a constant struggle of guilt and redemption — but in finding acceptance, I’ve found freedom. It’s a movie about making true and real connections. Real love doesn’t have to necessarily be romantic, but real love is a true human connection. When finding real love, in a true real human connection beyond the physical, we’re able to find acceptance.

INSPIRATION
This film loosely based on my experiences of sexuality and religion and my many horrible decisions I made looking for love in all the wrong places because I didn’t feel like I was worthy of a real love. The film is also inspired by a friend of mine I’ve known since middle school who was diagnosed as HIV positive at a young age. The HIV/AIDS part of this film is based on conversations my friend and I had over the phone.