"The Call"

20 August 2026

6 mins 18s

Are you token the piss?

Another week, another short film centred around a cursed conference call. Unlike 'Can You Hop On a Quick Call?', writer and director Meena Ayittey's 'The Call' (that's the last time we'll use that word, we promise) features a more traditional take on the technology, with Clara (Adwoa Akoto) the unlucky user.

She’s a director caught off guard by marketers who want a sweaty, angry, testosterone-fuelled commercial for… a women's razor. To make matters worse, they want the star to be an honest-to-God goat of colour ("Black goats matter, Clara"). To make matters worse still, they plan to use AI for the whole damn spot. Never has a nightmare ticked so many boxes in one go.

It's a work of fiction that still feels real as hell when you come right down to it. Akoto nails the 'how did it come to this' energy most of us can relate to, while Oskar Ulvestad, Joshua Hoadley, and Tom Sawyer (no, not that one) sink their teeth into absolute douchebaggery. As for the ad itself, we hope and pray it's not a sign of things to come.

UK

Short Film