Martta Tuomaala‘s Am I Calling You at a Bad Time? has been selected for the International Competition at Leiden Shorts film festival. The festival takes place from May 29–June 2, 2026 in Leiden, the Netherlands.

X is growing up in the 1990s. As a child she makes prank calls and gets her first job in telemarketing as a teenager. Office smells, heavy breathers, and meaningless greetings follow her from one workplace to another. Through archival material and amateur video footage, the narrative reflects X’s actions as a faceless subject playing with her voice as a commercialised asset.

Martta Tuomaala is a Helsinki-based visual artist (MA) who works between documentary and fiction. She works with various forms of film, video and installation. Over the past decade she has mainly focused on work culture and workers’ issues. Tuomaala has worked in many low-income fields and her own experiences have inspired her to create projects that emphasize workers’ rights.

The film is produced by Kenno Filmi.

Leiden Shorts
May 29–June 2, 2026
Leiden, Netherlands

More information: Leiden Shorts