Invention is an American film that … well, it kind of defies description. It’s a factual biopic, but it’s also kinda-sorta fiction and is also a reality show about the filming of the story. It’s about actress Callie Hernandez, who co-wrote it, but then again it’s kinda-sorta not. It’s a comedy, but it also kinda-sorta isn’t.
RogerEbert.com describes it as follows:
Invention is a unique collaboration between director Stephens and actress Hernandez that melds fact, fiction, and commentary all in one tribute to an estranged family member. As the movie progresses, there are moments where reality and fiction blur together. There’s a repeating image of a burning candle, like the kind of stock footage you would see in a funeral montage. The voices speaking over the image are not of the characters of the film but of the actors and crew talking, of Hernandez sharing her real memories of her dad and (likely) Stephens congratulating Tony Torn on a good take, as if to remind the audience that the story we are currently watching is both real and unreal and giving the film an experimental texture.
Read the RogerEbert.com link for richer detail about this offbeat project.
Here is the film clip. The capture is incorporated into her nudography below.
2016- episode 6 of Graves
2017 – Alien Covenant
2018 – Under the Silver Lake
2021 – One of these Days
2024 – Invention
