She knows it's a scam. She answers anyway.
Telefon-Saudade is an intimate short drama about an elderly woman mourning her lost son, who finds unexpected comfort in conversations with a phone scammer posing as her grandchild. As her daughter struggles to understand this fragile emotional coping mechanism, the film reveals the quiet depths of loneliness and the complex dynamics of love, grief, and letting go. Through everyday spaces and quiet moments, Telefon-Saudade explores the need to be heard—and the illusions we cling to in search of connection.
Acting
Kati Andai's face does more work than most scripts.
Direction
Tóth-Lederhaas Csongor finds poetry in phone cords and kitchen tables.
Writing
The scammer becomes real through what we don't hear.
Director
Tóth-Lederhaas Csongor
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
'Saudade' is Portuguese for longing, but the film's Hungarian setting suggests this grief transcends borders.
Phone scams targeting elderly 'grandparents' are epidemic in Hungary—this reclaims exploitation as unexpected tenderness.
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