ABOUT THE CO-WRITER/DIRECTOR: Justin Daering is a director and co-writer with a deep passion for science fiction filmmaking. He believes that science fiction has the unique ability to move and change us by encouraging empathy, curiosity, and wonder. He began directing at the age of 10, borrowing his friend’s parents’ video camera and transforming his basement into a mad scientist’s laboratory. His continued interest in film led him to The University of Wisconsin, where he earned a BA in Cinema Studies. In addition to directing his own films, Justin has worked as a director’s assistant and creative executive on projects including The Accountant, Jane Got a Gun, and the television series The Americans. He holds his MFA in Directing from the American Film Institute Conservatory.

THE WORLD: Saccovens live among us. They are our teachers, our doctors, and our lawyers—our politicians and our celebrities. An alien race whose emissary came to Earth over 200 years ago and saved humanity from imminent self-destruction. We repay the Saccovens by hosting. Adult Saccovens implant their fertilized egg sacs into men’s bodies. The sacs grow until they rupture, and a Saccoven baby is born. The host families raise the Saccoven children until their teen years, when they leave and return to the Saccoven homeland. Hosting is an honor, and only a select few humans are chosen to be implanted in a clinical, anesthetized process. Our story takes place in a rural Midwestern town, where an orbital elevator rises above the clouds, allowing the Saccovens easy access to off-world transportation. The elevator looms overhead—a spire that extends beyond the clouds, a constant reminder of their superiority.

THE STORY: Factory-worker TANNER KEITH and his wife EMILY KEITH are desperate to become hosts. After their latest rejection from Host Services, Tanner is invited by his Saccoven boss BENOIT WALTON on a hunting trip on his private land. Alone in the woods together, Walton suddenly throws Tanner to the ground, holds him down, and pierces his neck with a razor-sharp appendage, implanting a gestational sac.

Tanner is haunted by the memory of how he became a host. He tries to extract the parasite from his neck with a knife, and Emily finds him in a pool of blood on the bathroom floor. He decides to hide the truth from her, and he reluctantly joins the other host fathers at the altar to have his gestational sac blessed by their pastor.

Alone in his fear, he seeks out an underground network of extraction clinics, run by JOJO out of an old barn. In order to win Jojo’s trust, Tanner must sneak into the hospital and steal medical records from Emily’s hospital.

As Tanner goes under the knife for his illegal extraction, the underground clinic is raided by a SWAT team. Emily discovers Tanner’s life is in jeopardy and helps him extract the alien parasite from his neck—but Walton finds them at the factory. Tanner must decide if he wants to be reimplanted or commit himself and Emily to a life on the run.

PROOF OF CONCEPT SHORT FILM: A short film also titled Progeny was made in 2019 as a proof of concept. It screened at 60 festivals worldwide and won top prizes at Screamfest, Maniatic, and Filmquest. Since 2022, it is available to view on Alter and has over 1.5m views. Click here to watch before you audition.