After her father's death, Carrie (Callie Hernandez), the protagonist of "Invention," is granted a patent for an electromagnetic healing device. The device is based on one that Hernandez's late father owned: a flashing cylinder with multicolored tubes that emitted strange electrical sounds. The device looks like something straight out of a science fiction movie.
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Speaking to Variety about her film "Invention," which premieres at Locarno, Los Angeles-based director Courtney Stephens describes the machine as "the mystery at the center of the movie." Unsure what to make of it—or of her father's death—Carrie struggles to come to terms with the loss of a larger-than-life figure: a doctor turned "spiritual healer," and a man whose trustworthiness has always been questioned.
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 for the Concorso Cineasti del Presente category at this year’s Locarno Film Festival and nominally classified as “fiction,” “Invention” eludes easy categorization. It can be read as a mix of autobiography, documentary, and archival footage of Hernandez’s late father, offering much more than a traditional narrative.
This blurring of genres serves a higher purpose, blurring the storyline itself in its distinctions between fairy tales, mythology, and American idiom. It raises an important question: aren’t they all just really good conspiracy theories at the end of the day? This exploration is done in the most gentle and nonjudgmental way possible.
