Danielle's directorial debut is Invasion '53, a 10-minute short film about a man-eating alien who crashes a suburban cocktail party. The movie stars Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and was produced with Kurt Uebersax (Elf-Man, America's Most Wanted).
Message from the Director
Screenings
August 13, 2025, Seattle Worldcon 2025, 6:00 PM, Seattle Convention Center, Seattle, WA. Tickets.
July 23-27, 2025, Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival, Comic-Con International, San Diego, CA.
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July 11-13, 2025, ConGregate 11, Downtown Marriott, Winston-Salem, NC. Tickets.
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June 21, 2025, MisCon 39: Hive of Scum and Villainy, 5:00 PM, Missoula Fairgrounds, Missoula, MT. Tickets.
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May 25, 2025, Balticon 59, 7:00 PM, Renaissance Harborplace Hotel, Baltimore, MD. Tickets.
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May 17, 2025, McMinnville Sci-Fi Film Festival (at the world's 2nd-largest UFO festival!), 7:00 PM, Reel Hollywood Video, McMinnville, OR, . Tickets.
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May 16, 2025, First Contact Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Festival, 9:40 PM, SModcastle Cinemas, Atlantic Highlands, NJ. Tickets.
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March 30, 2025, Annapolis Film Festival, 2:30 PM, Maryland Hall, Annapolis, MD. Tickets.
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March 22, 2025, Cinequest Film Festival, 2:00 PM, 3Below Theaters, San Jose, CA. Tickets.​​
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Invasion '53 is currently on its festival run. More screening dates will be announced soon.
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Invasion '53 Lands at Comic-Con!
When Danielle set out to make Invasion ’53, from the very beginning, there was one place she dreamed of showing the film: Comic-Con.
This summer, Invasion ’53 will screen at Comic-Con!
Award Winner!
At the First Contact Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Festival, Invasion '53 won three Harvey Awards, including Best Actor
(Jeffrey Combs) and
Best Screenplay
(Danielle Weinberg)!
Invading Maryland!
It was great to have friends, family, cast, and crew join us for our East Coast premiere at the Annapolis Film Festival. That selection led to an invitation to screen at Balticon 59.
World Premiere!
Invasion ’53 had its world premiere at Cinequest Film Festival! Our team was honored to compete in this Oscar-qualifying festival. Cinequest’s legacy is the fusion of creativity and technological innovation to empower the lives of artists, audiences, and communities. We had a great time invading Silicon Valley and sharing our film with audiences for the first time.
Trailer
Pictured on this page: Jeffrey Combs, Annie Gill, John Judy, Nicole Halmos, Rick Kain, Michal Sinnott, Dan Franko, Zach Brewster-Geisz, Lisa Randazzo Kearns, Vince Eisenson, Anthony S. Johnson, Nancy Commeree, Kurt Uebersax, and Danielle Weinberg
Director's Statement
At my first meeting with our star, Jeffrey Combs, he called Invasion ’53 “a Twilight Zone haiku.” That’s a great description of what we set out to make. This short film is a sendup of the sometimes scary, sometimes campy, but always delightful sci-fi flicks of the 1950s. I set this picture during a suburban cocktail party, incorporating as many ‘50s sci-fi tropes as possible. My hope is that when the lights come down and the projector turns on, the audience is transported back to the heyday of sci-fi films and is thoroughly entertained by our Twilight Zone haiku.
—Danielle Weinberg