Debra Monk To Star In Short Film HOLD Premiering This Month At IFC Center

Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress Debra Monk leads the powerful new short film HOLD, which will premiere at New York’s IFC Center during its Academy Award-qualifying run, September 17–23, 2025.

Written by Kelly Strandemo—who also co-stars—and directed by Josiah Junqueira Spencer, HOLD follows Virginia Campbell (Monk), a mother resisting change when her adult daughter returns home under unexpected circumstances. Over the course of one extraordinary morning, the two are propelled into a reckoning that explores family, love, and the difficulty of letting go.

The film is produced by Laura Faith and Mary Willis White (Heiress Productions), Josiah Junqueira Spencer and STEPHEN BAILEY (VOLTA), with Colleen Castle as Associate Producer. The featured cast also includes Celia Au (Awkwafina is Nora from Queens), Martin Fisher (A Complete Unknown), and John Jellison (Memphis, All Shook Up).

Monk, currently featured on HBO’s The Gilded Age, shared: “As an actor, you hope to find stories and characters that reflect hope and love in all their complexities. HOLD is that kind of story—quiet, powerful, and deeply human. It’s been wonderful to see how profoundly impacted audiences have been by our film, and I’m thrilled that more people will now have the opportunity to see it.”

Following its world premiere as the opening night selection at Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival, HOLD has traveled the festival circuit to strong acclaim. Highlights include the San Jose International Short Film Festival, Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival, SOHO International Film Festival, and Twin Cities Film Festival, where it won the Audience Favorite Award.

The short has also collected multiple honors: Best Picture at the Montreal International Film Festival, Best Short Film at Reedy Reels Film Festival, Best Actress awards for Monk at the Montreal Independent Film Festival and Block Island Film Festival, and Best Short Film Script for Kelly Strandemo at Block Island.