Invention

Conceived jointly by director Courtney Stephens and actress Callie Hernandez, whose parents had recently passed away, Invention is a poignant demonstration of cinema’s ability to transform grief into creativity. Following the unexpected death of her father, an alternative health guru with a penchant for conspiracy theories, Carrie—a fictional version of Hernandez—discovers that she has inherited the patent for his mysterious experimental device. The film explores how we deal with the legacies of complex figures who have shaped our lives and the fine line between reality and fiction, combining real footage of Hernandez’s father’s television appearances with the actress’s award-winning performance in the film’s premiere at Locarno.