Writers/Producers: Callie Hernandez and Courtney Stephens

A deeply personal and lovingly crafted Berkshires-set mystery, Courtney Stephens and Callie Hernandez’ entrancing docu-fiction follows Carrie (Hernandez in a Locarno award-winning performance), a young woman who inherits a mysterious patent for an experimental healing device after the unexpected death of her father. As she grapples with the emotional and logistical aftermath of his passing, Carrie meets various eccentric characters (played by non-professional actors and filmmakers, including Joe Swanberg and Caveh Zahedi) who knew her father and reveal more to her about his alternative, somewhat conspiratorial ideas. Shot on gritty Super 16mm and weaving archival footage of Hernandez’s real-life father into its fictional narrative, Invention playfully interrogates the mythologies we create about our loved ones after they leave us.

The Los Angeles Festival of Movies (presented by MUBI and Mezzanine) is a curated annual film festival in Los Angeles, presenting new independent and restoration premieres to a local audience. Now in its second year, the festival, an event put on by the film non-profit Mezzanine, redefines Los Angeles as a destination for independent film. Running April 3-6, 2025, LAFM has curated a selection of high profile narrative and documentary film premieres; talks with local artists, luminaries, and thought leaders; and parties each night at three exciting new east side LA venues. The festival is the new nexus for the city’s burgeoning indie film community to gather, discuss and celebrate independent cinema.

Click here for more information about the Los Angeles Festival of Movies and to purchase tickets.