When a mother’s AI-generated memories clash with reality, she must confront her past for the sake of her future

Karl Stelter’s (DIS)CONNECTED is a gripping blend of sci-fi, drama, and suspense set in a hauntingly plausible future. The year is 2071, and Mina, a grieving mother, relies on a futuristic implant to erase the agonizing memories of her daughter’s death. But when a glitch in the technology forces her to relive these suppressed moments, Mina embarks on a desperate quest to have the implant removed. Turning to an underground hacker for help, she sets off on an emotional and visually stunning journey that challenges the boundaries of memory, technology, and grief.

(DIS)CONNECTED captivates audiences with its layered storytelling and profound exploration of human emotion. Stelter’s visionary direction combines suspenseful twists with poignant themes, creating a narrative that resonates deeply. Through its striking visuals and powerful performances, the film invites viewers to question the price of escaping pain and the importance of confronting one’s past. This is science fiction at its most intimate and thought-provoking.

The premise of memory manipulation is central to (Dis)connected. What inspired the idea of a futuristic implant that replaces painful memories, and what questions were you hoping to explore about grief and memory?

At first the implant was a purely functional idea – I felt overwhelmed by technology, and if there’s one thing I believe humans crave, it’s control. So as technology continues to advance, I believe we’re going find ways to stay ahead of it – so incorporating tech into our biology feels inevitable. At the same time, I was also witnessing how damaging social media has been to society – how each of us were seeing different “realities” based on algorithms…and how that was pulling people and loved ones apart. However these were very ‘high concept’ theories I was playing with, and what really moved this from a dystopian world into an emotional story was when my wife and I experienced a miscarriage 6 years ago. It just felt like this chisel had etched a history into our lives against our will, and I couldn’t help but wonder: if I could filter that moment, if we could see our daughter in front of us right now – would I say yes? And at what cost? So for me, this film holds a very special place in my heart in both holding onto and letting go of that moment.

Mina’s journey of confronting repressed memories is emotionally intense. How did you balance the human drama with the sci-fi elements to ensure the film remained grounded?

I love big, nuanced sci-fi worlds – but in my opinion the best ones just throw you into a developed culture and allow the audience to learn by absorption. Like a child learning a new word through context – and that’s what we aimed for in our film. We absolutely wrote pages and pages about the chip, what else it can do, who manufactured it, other factions in the world – but the only thing relevant to this moment is Mina, and her conflicting desire to see her daughter, but also be free of a generated reality that has left her isolated from the rest of the world.

The film features subtle but effective VFX. How did you decide when and where to use visual effects to enhance the futuristic setting without overpowering the emotional core of the story?

A huge shout out goes to Danny Shepherd of Ismahawk (https://ismahawk.com/) – we were connected through our incredible DP Joe Simon, and he not only has the technical chops – but a sense of taste and focus on story. Many of our discussions were about how subtle something could be – and actually one of my favorite shots is at 2:49 during a flashback when Mina is experiencing a mix of her own memories and Julian’s – and the shadow stretches on the wall, pulling us back from what the chip has deemed a ‘dangerous’ memory. Or the opening shot where there’s just a small flicker of RGB. Those are touches you can feel, but you don’t necessarily think about – and is a huge part of the tone and vibe.

Memory manipulation is a recurring theme in sci-fi. How does (Dis)connected offer a fresh perspective on this idea, especially in relation to personal loss and healing?

Memories are fascinating in that we all have them, and in essence, they define who we are. How we remember something motivates how we respond to something in the future. Did we succeed? Did we fail? Could we overcome failure? Grief? When you pair the zeitgeist of social media already creating individualized realities, with the ability to actually control your own reality through memory – we get a very grounded look at what our future could be. What is important to retain as human beings as we move forward with technology? What do we want to let go of? We’re currently playing with technology without guardrails – and (DIS)CONNECTED gives audiences a fun sandbox to be cognisant of that, and to think seriously about how they want to use technology to add to their lives, not take over.

The role of the hacker in helping Mina remove the implant adds an intriguing twist. How did you develop this character, and what does their presence symbolize in the story?

I love Cole’s character – such a dense past conveyed through only a few lines and looks. As Mina’s brother in law, there is a deeply layered past here that we only touch the surface of, and to me he represents someone who may have taken the other extreme: excising technology entirely. Becoming jaded by what it does to people, how it can hurt people and rip them apart. But I believe our relationship to technology is much more nuanced than that – and by juxtaposing Cole and Mina, I hope to give audiences a great conversational topic on technology and how we should use it.

Can you tell us about the practical visual decor. How it was create and where the inspirations and designs came from?

New technology always starts as some big, bulky thing – the first computer was massive, but now we have iPhones. So the theory was this simple, sleek implant would have to be removed with older tech – but a LOT of it. Thus the giant ‘computer bays’ and chair. And really, it wasn’t too much of a stretch to imagine certain tech conglomerates inventing something like this and mass-marketing it to look ‘cool’. In terms of the overall look and feel of the world – I believe as we get farther into the future with technology, we’ll hold onto certain things to ground us. We don’t want futuristic looking houses – we want nostalgia. Something to ground us. To give us comfort as the world around us becomes more difficult or confusing to navigate.

Themes of grief, memory, and technology run throughout the film. How do you hope viewers will reflect on the ethical implications of memory manipulation after watching (Dis)connected?

I want people to take a step back and think about their relationship to technology – to have discussions about what we want it to be used for, and how we can move in that direction. So many people feel guilty about how much time they spend on social media – but I would challenge them to remember: it has been engineered by the smartest people in the world, and continuously iterated by algorithms to soak up your attention. Yet we somehow buy into the idea that it’s our fault for being addicted. So to answer your question: manipulating memories is actually the (futuristic) result of feeling inadequate or unable to handle the present moment. It’s an addiction to cover for something we cannot face – however I firmly believe being in the present is the most important and powerful thing we can do to experience life.

As a sci-fi filmmaker, what are some of the influences—whether in film, literature, or art—that inspired the visual and narrative style of (Dis)connected?

Arrival immediately comes to mind with the flashback sequence opening the film – which is, in my opinion, flawless. You get this full range of human emotion and experience that is so fleeting, beautiful, tragic, and hopeful all at once. That’s what life is, and that feeling is what I wanted to carve out for Mina and Sara. I also love Sunshine – which was also my reference for both sound design and music. The way it blurs the line between them, and elevates moments you’ve seen a thousand times before – just incredible.

What are the books, podcasts or even YouTube Channel that you recommend young filmmakers to get their hands on?

I love the Scriptnotes podcast – I’ve been listening to them for over 6 years, and they’ve effectively been my film school in bringing narrative stories to screen. As for books, The War of Art is incredibly powerful and poignant in helping to navigate what it means to be an artist, and understanding and embracing that process.

Finally, what are your favorite short films?

A tough one! So many great shorts – but a few stand out in my mind immediately: Alien: Specimen by Kelsey Taylor for its fantastic storytelling and grounded sci-fi vibes, Pioneer by David Lowery for its contained but beautiful story, and Thunder Road (Watch on FS) for its simplicity and emotion.

What’s next for this film?

This film was made to stand alone as a short story – but also as a proof of concept for the feature. We’re currently writing the script, and to give audiences a taste of the bigger world outside of the short, we’ve created an in-world website from the perspective of BrightMind – the tech conglomerate behind the chip!

In-World Site: BrightMind https://www.disconnectedshortfilm.com/brightmind

Additionally, we had the honor of screening at an incredible festival called PROOF (dedicated to proof of concepts), where we created a 90 second pitch for where the feature goes. So to fans who want to stay connected with this project – please take a look, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you dig the vision!

Feature Pitch: