I/O key art: a hand presses into a dark wooden door split by a vertical amber light, with the tagline She pressed enter. They were waiting.

Input accepted · output archived

Archive complete · welcome back

Proof of concept

She pressed enter.

They were waiting.

Scroll · enter archive ↓

Record // film

I/O (Input-Output)

  • Form Sci-fi concept · proof of concept
  • Director Molly Vernon
  • Status Festival circuit active
  • Production Molly’s Writers Room
  • Circuit 2026 IndieFest · Indie Short Fest · Dunwich · Thriller/Suspense

She pressed enter. On the other side of the threshold, something had been waiting for the key.

I/O (Input-Output) is a sci-fi proof of concept from filmmaker Molly Vernon: a story about a door that should not answer, a network that should not speak, and the human cost of crossing the line. The teaser is active on the festival circuit; public transmission of the full piece remains locked until release windows allow.

A Molly Vernon sci-fi concept · Molly’s Writers Room

Archive record · io-poc-001

Proof of concept transmission

Archive record · io-poc-001 Status · festival circuit active Public transmission · locked

No video · no iframe · no media URL · festival-aware hold

Signal status // festival circuit

Festival circuit 2026

Current circuit summary: 11 selections · 4 wins · 1 finalist · 2 semifinalists. Historical 2024 materials remain in the social archive and are not merged into this count.

11 selections · 4 wins · 1 finalist · 2 semifinalists

Reported summary (migration) — Molly-reported snapshot: 11 selections; 4 wins (2 original published-circuit wins + 2 subsequently reported at unnamed third festival, draft until identity/wording confirmed); 1 finalist; 2 semifinalists

Complete festival archive (crawlable records)

The Dunwich Horror Fest · current

  • Winner — Best Bite Sized Horror (Teaser)
  • Finalist (Teaser) · 2026
  • Selection — Official Selection (2nd) (Teaser)

Calgary Independent Film Festival · current

  • Winner — Best Teaser (Teaser)

Thriller/Suspense Film Festival · current

  • Selection — Official Selection (Teaser) · 2026

Indie Short Fest · current

  • Selection — Official Selection (Teaser) · 2026

Horror Fest Film Festival · current

  • Selection — Official Selection (Teaser) · 2026

Film Revolution Fest · current

  • Semifinalist (Teaser) · 2026

Lonely Wolf International Film Festival · current

  • Semifinalist (Teaser) · 2026

The IndieFEST Film Awards · current

  • Winner — Award of Merit (Teaser)

Hollywood Blood Horror Festival · current

  • Finalist (Teaser)

Horrorific Women Film Festival · current

  • Nominee (Teaser)

Texas Film Belt Project · current

  • Selection (Teaser)
I/O festival circuit overview poster, 2026

Circuit overview

The signal is spreading. Festival circuit overview — not a complete inventory. See the circuit summary above for reported or record-based totals.

Nominations and wins as announced · a Molly Vernon sci-fi concept

Milestone · first acceptance
I/O graphic announcing first festival acceptance at Thriller/Suspense Festival 2026.

First festival acceptance: official selection, Thriller/Suspense Festival 2026. Poster artifact text corrected in this caption.

Milestone · second selection
I/O graphic announcing second selection at The Dunwich Horror Fest.

Second selection: official selection, The Dunwich Horror Fest.

Milestone · finalist
Still of a cast member with laptop and Finalist, The Dunwich Horror Fest 2026 badge. Photo credit Heather Leigh Jackson.

Finalist, The Dunwich Horror Fest 2026. Photo © Heather Leigh Jackson

Classified · world & premise

Selected records

The input

A single action at a threshold: enter. Not a password for a system she owns — a key pressed into a door that should have stayed closed. The film begins where curiosity becomes irreversible.

The null network

Something answers that was never meant to speak. The Null Network is not a tool in her hand; it is a presence on the line — signal without comfort, connection without safety.

The experiment

What opened was not only technology. It was a procedure, a dare, a test of how far a person will go when the interface says yes. The archive keeps the record. The living pay the cost.

The consequence

Crossing the seam does not end at the screen. Relationships strain, identities blur, and the world on this side of the door is no longer certain it is alone. The output has already been accepted.

Signal records // curated observations

Human signal

Story stills and premiere-era graphics, presented as archive observations. July 23 Bad Astronaut materials are past events, not live calls to action.

Ext-obs // human story · past premiere era
I/O teaser premiere poster with three cast profiles; historical July 23 screening.

Past event Human-story premiere graphic from the July Houston screening era. Semantic tagline remains: They were waiting.

Ext-obs // venue still · past premiere
Historical I/O premiere poster of a young woman at a laptop with Bad Astronaut Brewery details.

Past event Not Another Film Screening · Bad Astronaut Brewery · 1519 Fulton St, Houston, TX — historical premiere record.

Ext-obs // production still · past premiere
Historical I/O premiere poster with cast and camera crew and Bad Astronaut Brewery address.

Past event Premiere-era production framing. Venue and time on the poster are archived history.

Personnel log

Cast & crew archive

I/O proof of concept cast and crew archive plate
Accessible cast & crew list (matches plate)

Cast

  • Alexis Arnold
  • Toby Bornhauser
  • Phillip Grasso
  • Alex Mounir
  • Tommy Bo
  • Zachary Dockal
  • Doug Dow
  • Lena Reyna
  • Kayla Kramr
  • Arion King
  • Maisen Storm
  • Olivia Fagen
  • Tim Harrington
  • Emily Bo
  • Roxanne Green
  • Nia Johnson
  • Laura Hernandez
  • Sruthi Gopalakrishnan
  • Zina Harrington
  • Noreen Mao
  • Gary E. Smith
  • Dan Braverman
  • Megan Tackett
  • Sara Gaeta
  • Dylan Pierce
  • Rocky Banks
  • Bernie Smiley
  • Anna Austin
  • Jobi Varghese

Personnel log // crew

  • Molly Vernon
  • Alex Saenz
  • Julye Newlin
  • Lynne Fredrichsen
  • Scott Vernon
  • Liz Tee
  • Sarah Staples
  • Michelle Robinson
  • Roman Jiwani
  • Tsvetalina Pourciau
  • Heather Leigh Jackson
  • Archer Graham-Gonzalez
  • Devon Anthony
  • Zachary Dockal
  • Alex Garcia
  • Jase O’Brien
  • Cassie Tackett
  • Megan Tackett
  • Tyler Teague
  • Adam Castillo
  • Bryan Castillo
  • Adam Castro
  • Leslie Kenney-Distefano
  • Crystal M. Lee
  • T. Khang Pham
  • TJ Webb
  • Jake Hellbach
  • Curt Meyer
  • Roxanne Green
  • Kaikley Hennan
  • Mike Snow
  • Matt Sweatt
  • Kirk Elton Greninger

Canonical plate · Blank_Plate[1]_IO_KEG_final · credit: Archer Graham-Gonzalez

Journal // production updates

Production journal

I/O production graphic announcing picture lock.

Picture lock

The edit is final. Next stop: completing the full proof of concept.

Group graphic congratulating I/O cast and crew on Zero Day teaser release.

Zero day

Congratulations to the I/O cast and crew — the signal is out; the stories have just begun.

I/O graphic featuring four cast portraits.

Cast stories

Not everyone enters I/O on day one. Some have been waiting; their stories continue to grow.

Photograph of the physical standing I/O threshold banner.

Physical banner

Production photograph of the threshold banner — journal authority only, not the site hero.

People in I/O shirts with the physical threshold banner.

Premiere night · photo

Past event Cast and friends with the standing threshold banner.

Large group photograph of I/O cast and crew with the threshold banner.

Premiere night · company photo

Past event Cast and crew assembled at the screening venue.

Premiere archive · July Houston screening (past events)

Historical materials for the Not Another Film Screening teaser premiere at Bad Astronaut Brewery, 1519 Fulton St, Houston, TX. These are archived records — not current calls to action.

Pre-event announcement graphic (historical).
Past event Pre-event announcement graphic (historical).
Premiere poster — July 23, Not Another Film Screening, Houston.
Past event Premiere poster — July 23, Not Another Film Screening, Houston.
Premiere poster — father and daughter still, July 23.
Past event Premiere poster — father and daughter still, July 23.
Premiere invite — July 23 at 7PM, Houston.
Past event Premiere invite — July 23 at 7PM, Houston.
Premiere-era “tomorrow” graphic — archived; not a live CTA.
Past event Premiere-era “tomorrow” graphic — archived; not a live CTA.
Same-day “tonight / free” reminder — archived past event only.
Past event Same-day “tonight / free” reminder — archived past event only.
Social archive · holiday, logistics, historical festival (2024)

Additional circulating graphics. Holiday and logistics posts are undated or historical. The 2024 three-selection composite is labeled historical and is not merged into the 2026 circuit.

Historical I/O festival poster showing three 2024 official selections.
Historical · 2024 Three-selection composite — not the current 2026 four-selection authority.
I/O Mother's Day social graphic from Daisy and the cast and crew.
Mother’s Day greeting from Daisy and the I/O cast and crew. Undated calendar year.
I/O Independence Day social graphic.
Independence Day greeting from the team at I/O. Undated calendar year.
I/O graphic announcing T-shirts ready for pickup.
Archived logistics T-shirt pickup notice — historical same-day language retained as artifact only.

Channels

Contact & press

Press materials and festival inquiries · contact Molly Vernon