The Invisible Father (2021)
In the 1960s, beat poet and experimental filmmaker Piero Heliczer helped shape New American Cinema, and was enmeshed with iconic filmmaker Andy Warhol and The Velvet Underground at the very start of their careers. Through interviews with family and friends, found photos, and archival footage, Piero’s daughter, Thérèse Casper, explores the promise and perils of leading an authentic, creative life, and the impact that it can have on the people you leave behind in the process. Wondering if she can make peace with her absent father if she can find a connection to him through his art, she explores the artistic legacy and life of a man she never knew.
Director: Thérèse Heliczer
![]() |
Thérèse Heliczer as Self |
![]() |
Jonas Mekas as Self (archive footage) |
![]() |
John Cale as Self |
![]() |
Ira Cohen as Self (archival footage) |
| Directing | Thérèse Heliczer | Director |
| Production | Thérèse Heliczer | Executive Producer |
| Production | Marisabina Russo | Executive Producer |
| Sound | Stevie Haywood | Sound |
| Sound | Dan McComb | Sound |
| Sound | Vincent Munsch | Sound |
| Sound | Jeff Ringrose | Sound |
| Camera | Duke Bissinger | Camera Operator |
| Camera | Joe DeWitt | Camera Operator |
| Camera | Dan McComb | Camera Operator |
| Camera | Florent Catteau | Camera Operator |
| Camera | Patricia Boiko | Additional Camera |
| Camera | Thérèse Heliczer | Additional Camera |
| Camera | Delphine Casper | Additional Camera |
| Art | Todd Soliday | Title Designer |
| Production | Kate Keckler Dandel | Producer |
| Editing | John Jeffcoat | Editor |
| Writing | Eric Frith | Story Editor |
| Sound | Eric Goetz | Music |
| Sound | Ben Winwood | Music |