After her scientist mother dies in a suspicious accident, a devastated teen in a remote mountain town rallies her friends to uncover the truth behind her mother’s quantum physics experiment before it falls into the wrong hands.
Deep in the Catskill Mountains, in the town of Arcane, PARK (16), a queer country girl, struggles to exist, along with her friends JASON(18), a proud, trans cowboy, and HAE-WOO,(17), a deaf, Korean wilderness scout. Park's charm only gets her so far. She would rather hide out from the world with her mother, JUNE, a brilliant but busy physicist who run the fringe quantum lab hidden in the woods on the outskirts of town.
Park’s only family, her grandfather CLAY—a grizzled sentinel of time—has no patience for June’s radical ideas. Caught between her visionary mother and her grandfather’s acceptance, Park walks a fragile tightrope, staying in the middle—close enough to belong, distant enough to avoid loss. But it might cost her more than she’s willing to admit. Especially in a town she loves deeply… but suspects might never fully accept her.
Just as June is about to make an attempt at her pivotal experiment, the Universal Quantum Particle — element number FIVE. The labs explodes and June is killed.
Guilt rushes through Park for pushing her mother away just moments before she dies. Determined to make up for it, Park decides to finish June's experiment. Though Park begins the journey alone, she soon realizes she can’t navigate it without help. She is forced to reach out to Jason and Hae-Woo and together they uncover June’s long-buried research, following its clues to the quantum accelerator hidden deep within the mountain. But no matter how hard Park pushes, the machine resists. As frustration builds, she suspects that unlocking the power of Element Five might require more than intellect and control—it demands Park must risk the safety she’s always clung to make the connection she needs.
To make things more complicated, NIA, a new cute cowgirl, literally crashes into Park’s life. Her free-spirited, cosmic vibe challenges Park’s tightly wound core and Park begins to see the value in opening up.
Nia isn't the only challenge, SYSTON ENERGY Company rolls into town with its sights on exploiting the mountain for their own power and taking over the research. Thwarting Park's already difficult task.
As Syston tightens its grip and her grandfather, Clay, urges her to abandon her radical ideas, Park must decide if she’s willing to risk everything—including the relationships she holds most dear—to complete her mother’s work and finally find the connection she’s always longed for.
Charlene is a queer filmmaker from the Catskill Mountains and an ex-Army sergeant whose search for belonging led her to storytelling. Her feature documentary THE FOUNDERS won the Audience Award at the Atlanta Film Festival and Best Documentary at La Costa, followed by a series of acclaimed short films (LIMERENCE, THE LICK, RIDESHARE, THE MOTH) that examine the tension between isolation, connection, and the need for community.
She directed the Emmy-winning series INTERSECTION and episodes for Discovery and TLC. As a producer and editor, she helped shape MAN MADE (about trans bodybuilders), HOME FIELD (Tribeca), and AMERICAN REBEL for PBS (American Masters).
As a cinematographer she's lensed several short films, series and network content for Discovery, Netflix, TLC and Magnolia. Her screenwriting has been recognized by Slamdance, Stowe Story Labs, Cinestory, Southern Producers Lab, ScreenCraft, Athena Writing and Developing Lab and Austin Film Festival. Her short screenplay, CALL AND RESPONSE, was number one on Coverfly’s 2025 top short scripts all time.
Charlene’s work lives at the intersection of grief, identity, and resilience. She is always reaching for what’s raw, unspoken, and completely transformative.
Stowe Story Lab 2022
Southern Producers Lab 2022
Athena Lab 2024
The Writers Lab International (2024) Quarterfinalist
Casting Director - Erica Arvold
