After her estranged mother is murdered, Margaret Klagan is thrust into an ancient secret society tasked with protecting the world from apocalyptic disaster as she discovers she is heir to a legacy her mother was bent on hiding her from.
A Doomsday Clock. It is a real thing, and it lives at the University of Chicago. The hands get moved closer or further away from midnight depending on how close to destroying the world we humans actually are. It currently sits at 2 minutes until midnight. In this near-future series, the Doomsday Clock is watched over by a small group tasked to save the world by predicting and foiling disasters before they happen. It is an hour-long sci-fi thriller series, tonally in the vein of Edge of Tomorrow. All of the characters have some control of destiny but constantly fight with a reality that is larger than they are. It is a serialized procedural, with a self-contained component within each episode of a particular disaster to be averted and an overarching season and series arc of two ancient clans locked in a prolonged battle for the very earth.
Dena Hysell-Cornejo is a director/writer who seamlessly explores humanity’s contradictions and foibles through her work in genre films/tv and documentaries. An unflappable force on set, she has worked in thrillers, horror, action, and social justice documentaries always using her talents to create films which immerse the viewer into the world of complicated morality twists which force complex characters to come face to face with their humanity. Most recently, she has been directing and writing multiple hour-long documentaries on different aspects of gender based violence for Without Exception Films, which star Constance Wu, Yvette Nicole Brown, Maire Avgeropolous, and Torrey Devitto. Collectively called "Unmuted", these documentaries were selected as a 2024 Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Action. In the narrative feature world, sci-fi thriller Algorithm: Bliss was released by Green Apple Films, where Debbie Elias of Adrenaline said “Ethics, morals, and technology collide in this riveting and thought provoking film” Her first narrative feature, Ascent to Hell, was released by Gravitas Ventures, where First Comic News gave it 4 of 5 stars saying “When the horror starts it is a slow build up leading to a terror that will have you watching intensely” Her work has been recognized with top honors at multiple festivals (Toronto, Seattle, Indiana, NYFF), and acquired by major distributors. After graduating from Stanford University, she has written, directed and produced for Eli Roth’s Crypt TV, Legacy Entertainment Partners, Drive Media and various other companies.
