Michael Fodera’s short film Holding Pattern drops us into the pivotal moment between life and the afterlife. Our protagonist finds himself on a forest road, where he has been wandering for quite some time. He’s been wandering along for quite some time. Without a clue to his location, he stumbles across a woman who mutters the word, “Stay!”
Traveling further down the road, the protagonist hears a payphone ringing. On the other end is an operator asking whether our hero has yet reached his “conclusion” and if he is done roaming. The protagonist insists that there is still so much more to do in life.
“On the other end is an operator asking whether our hero has yet reached his ‘conclusion’…”
Holding Pattern is a film that poses more questions than it answers. Writer/director Michael Fodera builds a world that exists in some form of purgatory, and he asks whether we are ready to move on after death.
Fodera succeeds by putting us in the protagonist’s shoes and challenging us to reflect on both the afterlife and the value we place on our lives today.
Holding Pattern is that rare short film that sticks around after the credits roll, whispering the haunting question: Are we ready for what’s next, or are we forever caught wandering life’s endless roads?
"…Are we ready for what's next?"
