Unconventional Grief Drama ‘Invention’ Trailer with Callie Hernandez

by Alex Billington
March 27, 2025
Source: YouTube

“You see much more than what you see with your eyes open…” An official trailer is out for this abstract, experimental indie film titled Invention, made by filmmakers Callie Hernandez and Courtney Stephens as a collaborative effort. This initially premiered at the 2024 Locarno Film Festival last year and won an award there, and it also played at the 2025 New Directors/New Films at MoMA recently, with a theatrical release set for April. In the aftermath of a conspiracy-minded father’s sudden death, his daughter inherits his patent for an experimental healing device. Starring Callie Hernandez, Sahm McGlynn, Tony Torn, Lucy Kaminsky, and Joe Swanberg. The film fictionalizes the aftermath of Hernandez’s father’s death using a real archive of varied TV appearances he made as an alternative health doctor in the late 90s through 2020. The storyline also revolves around the patent of an experimental healing device that becomes his daughter’s (played by Hernandez as the character of ‘Carrie Fernandez’) sole inheritance. Featuring other independent filmmakers in acting roles, Invention serves as a portrait of America in its late period, a country in which widespread disappointment infuses the culture with hopeful fictions & toxic nostalgia. For cinephiles only…

Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Hernandez & Stephens’ film Invention, direct from YouTube:

In the aftermath of a conspiracy-minded father’s unexpected death, his daughter (feat. Callie Hernandez) 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. Invention is a collaborative film directed by American indie writer / filmmaker Courtney Stephens, director of The American Sector, Terra Femme, and Invention previously. The screenplay is written by and it’s also produced by both Callie Hernandez and Courtney Stephens. With cinematography by Rafael Palacio Illingworth. This first premiered at the 2024 Locarno Film Festival last year, where this won the Pardo Award for Best Performance. Hernandez & Stephens’ Invention film will be released in select US theaters (first at Metrograph in NYC) starting April 18th, 2025 this spring. Anyone?

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