Director: Tony Shaff
Country: USA
Runtime: 80 min
Rating: 14A
Many viewers approach films with preconceived assumptions. Sometimes these expectations are met, while other times, one is disappointed or pleasantly surprised by that which they encounter. Before watching director Tony Shaff’s documentary Hotline, which makes its world premier at the Hot Docs Film Festival, I certainly had a few ideas about what I was about to see and hear. What I did not expect was a fascinating film that, at its essence, is primarily about exploring human connections and the possibilities that exist for life-changing interactions, even if they occur only over the line of a telephone.
Every year, millions of calls are made to hotlines all around the world. Hotline allows viewers the opportunity to listen in to a large variety of calls made to a wide range of different hotlines. The hotlines that are examined are as diverse as the people who operate them. The film explores, among others, a psychic hotline hosted by a priestess, a homework hotline run by teachers, a psychiatric crisis hotline answered by a former musician, a gay support hotline, a suicide hotline, an immigration law hotline, a phone sex hotline, 911 dispatchers, and even a pastor who has gone so far as to advertises his personal number for those who seek prayer.
Any assumptions in regards to the people who call or answer these numbers are quickly removed as the viewer is introduced to this intriguing world. Many of the people portrayed are not the type that an audience may immediately expect them to be, such as the middle aged maternal figure who engages in phone sex as multiple characters, or the rock star turned crisis hotline worker who actually goes out on calls to meet with those in need. This discrepancy is part of the beauty of the film, and it has the ability to alter one’s conceptions and open one’s eyes to the power of a system about which they may have previously known very little.
Much of this film is relayed through voice-over telephone calls, so the images that accompany the conversations remain simple so as to avoid distraction. The documentary also features many interview segments with many different callers and operators, some of which are even conducted over the phone to add to the overall effect. These people have very different stories, but one thing unites them: the desire to participate in human interaction. It is not only the operators who affect the lives of the callers, as many who man the hotlines are profoundly impacted by some of the calls that they receive. The stories are unique and interesting, and although the documentary does begin to feel long towards the end, these people do hold the attention of the viewer with their diverse tales.
Ultimately, the film Hotline is a surprisingly powerful documentary about different but universally human connections. There is a certain intimacy to this type of communication that is lost in text-based conversation, and director Shaff puts the profound importance of human interaction fully on display. Every operator in this film seems to genuinely care for the person on the other end of the line. Hotline is a valuable documentary because it not only educates, but it also eradicates preconceived and incorrect assumptions, replacing them with a feeling of connectedness and the knowledge that, somewhere, there is always somebody out there willing to listen.
No Comments