It’s hard to pigeonhole Invention, Courtney Stephens and Callie Hernandez’s heady blend of mumblecore, sci-fi, auto-fiction and archival documentary. Inspired by Hernandez’s personal experience, the film follows Carrie (Hernandez), a woman who inherits the patent to her father’s potentially bogus invention following his sudden death.

Featuring interviews and pseudo-scientific infomercials by Hernandez’s real father John, Invention is an empathetic depiction of how hard it can be to try to understand someone better after they’re gone. As Carrie gets to know various small-town weirdos who knew John (including two played by independent film icons Joe Swanberg and Caveh Zahedi), it’s unclear if she’s getting any closer to discovering some sort of truth. Stephens and Hernandez inject each scene with a tenderness and dry humour that will stay with the viewer long after Invention’s 72 minutes are up.

Invention will be preceded by Kate Colenbrander’s every dove is a pigeon and every pigeon is a dove, a short documentary about the antagonistic relationship between pigeons and the rest of the natural world.

Stick around after the film for a Zoom Q&A with Courtney Stephens and Callie Hernandez.

Thank you to our community partners Letterboxd, Vinegar Syndrome and Insomniac Film Festival.

Doors will open 60 minutes prior to the screening.