Placeholder
12:16, Super 16mm transferred to digital, 2026
At once wry, dreamy, and plaintive, Placeholder follows a woman adrift in the wake of divorce, navigating isolation while fantasizing about a Swedish movie star. Wandering between a half-empty home and the barren spaces of Antarctica glimpsed in Frank Hurley’s photographs of the ill-fated 1914 Endurance expedition, Jesse McLean’s protagonist follows a path of mourning and reflection in which reality is just beyond her grasp.
(Leo Goldsmith, New York Film Festival)
Amid a pandemic and a failing marriage, a woman retreats into obsessive fantasy. A film star becomes her companion as the boundaries between reality and reverie blur. Lost in a frozen Antarctic landscape inspired by Frank Hurley's 1914 Endurance expedition photographs, escapism becomes a mirror revealing how far she's drifted from herself.
(Jesse McLean)
Awards
Placeholder was awarded a Cream City Award at the Milwaukee Film Festival! I’m honored and thrilled! Jury consisted of Robert Daniel, Jonathan DeMaio, Kelly Young
Placeholder was awarded First Prize in the Experimental Short category at the Athens International Film and Video Festival! I’m honored and thrilled! Jury consisted of Amy Jenkins, Angelo Madsen, Annie Sprinkle, and Beth Stephens
Screenings:
New York Film Festival
25FPS Film Festival
Mimesis Documentary Festival
Oak Cliff Film Festival
Winnipeg Underground Film Festival
Cosmic Rays
Wisconsin Film Festival
Milwaukee Film Festival
Athens Film and Video Festival
Maryland Film Festival
Onion City Film Festival
Teaser