After they discover the ancient ruins of an alien colony near the human settlement on Planet Bliss, three environmental engineers follow a signal only they can see to an encounter that alters their perceptions and reshapes humanity’s future.

SYNOPSIS:

Part One: The Discovery. Linus Waits (58, black), Faye Honeycomb (34, white), and Carr Bridgewright (29, white) brace for their new roles as PR representatives, assigned to share the discovery of ancient alien ruins they made doing their regular jobs as environmental engineers on Planet Bliss. They stun people with humankind’s first proof of another spacefaring species. They don’t publicize that the alien civilization seems to have ended suddenly. With anxieties circling them, they start to see a colorful phenomenon in the sky that their Dome should keep them from seeing. Cut off from official channels, they decide to investigate on their own.

Part Two: The Signal. Linus, Faye, and Carr realize that only they can see the color phenomenon. Discussing it with family creates more problems. Linus takes drugs and talks to his dead wife, Myra; his distant, adult daughter criticizes his drinking. Faye’s sister worries about Faye’s sanity. Carr’s wife suspects his extra “work” merely covers for his affair with Faye. Shaking off their detractors, the trio decides that the color phenomenon is a signal intended for them. They sneak out of the Dome, make the dangerous planet walk, and find an invisible structure. They go inside.

Part Three: The Offer. A human-looking AI, Madeleine, greets the trio in a space rendered for their comfort, explaining that she is a liaison from The Living, a multi-dimensional, colorful, eel-like species that explores the universe without leaving their liquid emulsion. The Living have a collective memory and make collective decisions, but individual organisms experience their own thoughts and blissful sensations—a contrast with the superficial pleasures sought by human colonists in the Dome—a bliss comparable to Heaven. The AI offers the trio a chance to join The Living and assures Linus that The Living have never harmed and will not harm any other inhabitants of the planet. Given a day to consider, the trio returns home and finds family situations more alienating than ever, but they worry that giving up individual memory and agency might be tantamount to suicide.

Part Four: The Decision. The trio decides to go back to The Living. This time, the planet’s surface is completely different. One way or another, The Living have controlled their perceptions, which puts everything they have thought "true” about Planet Bliss in doubt. Nevertheless, they complete the journey and inform Madeleine they will join. Faye and Carr begin their transformations, but Linus changes his mind, saying there can be no Heaven without his wife. Posing as Myra, The Living haunt his thoughts as he returns home.

Part Five: The Transition. A shadow falls over the Dome. Faye and Carr complete their transformations into creatures like The Living. The Dome is destroyed, and Linus, speaking to Myra, says he knew The Living were liars, and his body crumbles into dust. In their liquid emulsion, The Living swim, indistinguishable from one another.

Planet Bliss was an Official Selection in the Fantasy Film Festival in Paris, 2024, a semi-finalist in the Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards, 2023, and a semi-finalist in the NYC International Screenplay Awards, 2023.