Hold Still

In the bustling, ink-stained world of 1920s journalism, Anne Cornwall portrays an aspiring reporter trapped in the purgatory of clerical work. When her city editor dismissively denies her a promotion, he sets an impossible bar: capture a photograph of the reclusive and heavily guarded Senator Hangnail. After two seasoned male photographers return empty-handed, Anne stakes her career on a single shutter click. Her journey takes her into the heart of the Senator's estate, where a comedy of errors leads to her being branded a 'Black Hand' terrorist. Despite a series of technical failures where she captures everything but the Senator's face, Anne's persistence leads her to a local café. Posing as a waitress, she finally secures the career-making image, only to find that the price of professional success is the forfeit of her domestic future. The film serves as a sharp, albeit eventually regressive, look at the 'New Woman' of the silent era trying to navigate a man's world with a camera as her only weapon.