Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst has announced his debut short film, Invention 13, co-directed with Shawn Foree, which will premiere at Beyond Fest in Los Angeles on 26 September. Shot on Super 16mm over four nights in Omaha, Nebraska, in January, the 15-minute film follows a frustrated pianist beset by strange obstacles as he attempts to master J.S. Bach's fiendishly difficult composition of the same name, blending practical effects with hand-drawn animation.

The film stars Emory Cohen (The OA), newcomer Olivia Howard and professional skateboarder Nelly Morville, with a score by Bright Eyes member Nathaniel Walcott and a voice-acting credit for Phoebe Bridgers. It will debut at the Egyptian Theatre alongside Nobuhiko Obayashi's 1977 horror classic Hausu, followed by a Q&A hosted by Whitmer Thomas. Oberst will then rejoin Bright Eyes for a US tour this autumn with Lullaby for the Working Class, culminating in three shows at Brooklyn Paramount in January 2027 where the band will perform I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn in full.