2026 Nellie Wong Magic of Movies Essay Contest Winners
High School: 3rd Runner-Up – Angela Sun, Saratoga High School
“Can I Put You On Hold”, a short film, was one of the most impactful short films I’ve viewed: a story of love under the risk of losing the bond forever.
As a child with immigrant parents who moved to America to fight for a better future for my brother and me, I hadn’t realized how fortunate I was to be allowed to call another nation my home. Growing up in the lively city of Beijing and later moving to one of the wealthiest regions in America, I’ve been able to experience opportunities many people spend their entire lives searching for, like Matthew and Dangmo. I never had to wonder whether I would be allowed to live with the people I love or whether an unanswered phone call would change the direction of my life.
What stood out to me most was the film’s title. “Can I Put You On Hold” is a simple phrase often heard during phone calls, yet in the story, it takes on a much deeper meaning. A phrase I hear when I call customer service to ask for a refund is also the pivotal moment in someone else’s life. For Matthew and Dangmo, being “put on hold” is not just an inconvenience. Their relationship is surrounded by uncertainty, their future held in someone else’s palm. The film transforms such an ordinary sentence into something heartbreaking, showing how easily bureaucracy can place someone’s life on pause.
I’ve never asked my parents about our family’s immigration process, but the night after the screening, I did. Investment immigration, although relatively easier during 2015, was risky as well. My parents had to leave behind the familiarity of home, their careers, and the certainty of the life they had built in China for the possibility of a better future in a completely different country. While my family’s experience was different from Matthew and Dangmo’s, the emotions behind it felt similar: the pressure of making the “right” choice and the overwhelming fear of failure. While immigration is often discussed politically, the film instead focuses on its emotional aspect, something people often ignore.
Matthew’s story becomes even more emotional through the imagined stunt where he flies to Dangmo in Thailand so they can finally be together again. Although the moment is dreamlike, it reveals how deeply he longs to escape the distance separating them. His fantasy is not really about flying, but about freedom and hope.
This film reminded me that behind every immigration story is a family carrying fear, hope, and uncertainty, even when they try not to show it. It made me think about how much my parents sacrificed so that I could have opportunities they once only dreamed of. I will never look at immigration the same way again, because now I understand that it is not just about politics, but about people trying to build a future without losing the people they care about most.