Story
A Mind Cannot Touch is a short film about loss and how one grieving mother will go to any lengths to bring her daughter back from the dead. The film asks, "What if you could bring a loved one back after their physical body has died?" and explores the moral implications of this hypothetical.
The inspiration for this story came from my own mother's personal experience of losing her firstborn child. Even after all these years, the pain is still present, and I started to wonder what she would do for a chance to have him back.
In a broader sense, I am fascinated with holographic representations of musical artists that have passed away. Holographic performances from such celebrities as Tupac in 2012 at Coachella, Michael Jackson in 2014 at The Billboard Music Awards, and Elvis in 2017 on American Idol wowed audiences, but were also a stark reminder of how difficult it is for human beings to let something--or someone--go. A Mind Cannot Touch explores this theme at its extreme: what could possibly be more difficult to let go of than one's own child?
A Mind Cannot Touch is a hard sci-fi story about a mother, LEDA, who uses her expertise in neuroscience to bring her deceased daughter, AIRLIA, back from the grave as a sentient hologram—complete with Airlia's memories and consciousness via mind uploading. Not wanting her daughter to know that she died, Leda decides to lie to Airlia and say she merely recovered from a long-term illness... but how long can she keep up this charade when her daughter will never again be able to grow, taste and touch? And will Airlia even want that kind of life?
