*Worldwide Rights

invention

Co-created by Director Courtney Stephens & Callie Hernandez

USA / 72 Mins / English

Synopsis:

In the aftermath of a conspiracy-minded father’s unexpected death, his daughter receives his patent for an experimental healing device. Featuring archive from actress Callie Hernandez's actual late father, INVENTION explores the process of grieving a complicated parent, and the filmmaking itself becomes a part of the process.

Logline:

In the aftermath of a conspiracy-minded father's sudden death, his daughter inherits his patent for an experimental healing device.

"Callie Hernandez and Courtney Stephens take the grief drama to strange new places" - Indiewire
"Courtney Stephens and Callie Hernandez’s Invention holds a seductive power" - The Film Stage
"Courtney Stephens and Callie Hernandez’s Ingenious “Invention” Has a Lot to Process" - A Moveable Fest
"Locarno 2024: 5 Must-See Film at This Years Fest" Indiewire
Courtney Stephens is a writer/director. The American Sector, her documentary (co-directed with Pacho Velez) about fragments of the Berlin Wall transplanted to the U.S., was named one of the best films of 2021 in The New Yorker. Her essay film, Terra Femme, composed of amateur travelogues shot by women in the early 20th century, was a New York Times critic's pick. Her films have been exhibited at MoMA, The National Gallery of Art, The Barbican, BOZAR, BAMPFA, Eye Filmmuseum, Royal Geographical Society, Walker Art Center, the Thailand Biennale, and in film festivals including the Berlinale, Viennale, Locarno, IDFA, Hong Kong, SXSW, and the New York Film Festival. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fulbright Scholarship to India, and fellowships from MacDowell, Yaddo, and the Wexner Center. A graduate of the AFI, she previously worked as assistant to Terrence Malick.
Callie Hernandez is an actress, writer, filmmaker and producer with work spanning over a decade. She was recently awarded Best Performance at Locarno in Concorso Cineasti de la Presente for Invention in August 2024. Acting work includes Terrence Malick’s Song to Song, Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant, Damien Chazelle's La La Land, A24’s Under the Silver Lake, Pete Ohs’ JETHICA among others. She is the director of Marina Allen’s Deep Fake (2024), and experimental short films Wet Nurse (2025) and RODEO (2021). In 2023, she founded Neurotika Haus Productions, an in-house film studio. Productions include Invention (2024) and Pete Ohs’ upcoming dark comedy Untitled Tick Movie (2025) in collaboration with Ohs and Jeremy O. Harris.
2024
Locarno FF (World Premiere) - Winner of Best Performance for Callie Hernandez - Filmmakers of the Present
Cork IFF, Ireland
Interseccion, Spain (International Coompetition)
Doclisboa, Portugal
Seminci, Spain
Belfort Entrevues FF, France (International Competition)
Transit FF, Germany
Thessaloniki IFF, Greece (Film Forward Competition)
RIDM, Canada (International Feature Competition)
Hainan IFF, China
Locarno in Istanbul, Turkey
Night Visions FF, Finland
InLaguna FF, Italy
2025
Unknown Pleasures, Germany
Lux City Fest, Luxembourg (Documentary Competition)
BAFICI, Argentina
Berwick Media & Arts FF, UK
Los Angeles Festival of Movies, USA
New Directors, New Films, USA
Year: 2024
Country: USA
Length: 72 mins
World Premiere: Locarno 2024
Director / Writer / Producer: Courtney Stephens
Co-Creator / Producer / Screenwriter: Callie Hernandez
Cast: Callie Hernandez, Sahm McGlynn, Lucy Kaminsky, Tony Torn, James N. Kienitz Wilkins
Cinematographer: Rafael Palacio Illingworth
Editor: Dounia Sichov, Courtney Stephens
Music: Thomas E. Dimock, Sarah Davachi, Cate Kennan, Twig Harper
Sound: Emile Klein