Signal

 
Credits
USC (2008)
Writer/Director/Producer: Chris Farrington
Producer: Tess Ortbals
Cinematography: Andrew Russo
Production Designer: Roy Rede
Editor: Amy Reynolds
Music: Chris Thomas, Adam Hurst
Casting Director: Nick Anderson
Sound Design: Marcello Dubaz, Amy Reynolds
Cast: Dominic Comperatore, John Henry Canavan, Matt Crabtree, Nancy Wolfe, Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper
 
About
1899. William Bradfield, electrical scientist and employee of the Marconi Company, struggles to send the first wireless telegraph message across the English Channel. Events lead him to a seance being held by a local medium who can supposedly perform miracles. The medium tries to contact the departed wife of another attendee, Richard Teller. William, fed up with the Spiritualist's movement claims of contacting spirits in the "ether," tries to expose the medium. He's ejected. The medium is shaken. Richard is distraught. Later that night, Richard, armed with a revolver, bursts into the telegraph station. Holding William and his assistant at gunpoint, Richard explains how the medium told him the "truth:" the wireless signals are disturbing the ether, making it impossible to contact the spirits residing there. Richard then demands the operators shut the machines down properly so he can burn the station to the ground and contact his wife. William refuses, and Richard shoots the assistant. Trying to save the station, William convinces Richard to hook himself to the machine. The outcome is so beyond William's scope of understanding, he's forced to question his nihilistic beliefs about the afterlife.

Signal won the 2010 Rhode Island International Film Festival's Best Student Film Award
 
Online Resources
Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Co
History of Wireless Telegraphy