‘Invention’ Filmmakers Courtney Stephens, Callie Hernandez Talk Dead Dads, American Mythology and Innovative Filmmaking from Locarno
variety.comCallie Hernandez), the protagonist of “Invention,” finds herself the beneficiary of a patent for an electromagnetic healing device—modeled after one Hernandez’s own late father possessed, a flashing cylinder of multicolored tubes emitting odd electrical noises, looking like something straight out of a sci-fi movie.
Los Angeles-based director Courtney Stephens, speaking with Variety about her Locarno-premiering film “Invention,” describes the machine as “the mystery at the center of the film.” Unsure of what to make of it—or of her father’s death—Carrie struggles to process the loss of a larger-than-life figure: a doctor turned “spiritual healer,” and a man whose trustworthiness was always in question.
On the surface, “Invention” explores the universal human experience of grieving a complicated loved one. What sets the film apart, however, is its innovative format.
Competing in the Concorso Cineasti del Presente category at this year’s Locarno Film Festival, “Invention” is nominally classified as ‘fiction,’ yet it defies simple categorization.
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