Christopher Au, Writer 

Sloan Grant(s) Received: 2022, Film Independent, Episodic Award

Project Type: Pilot

Genre: Thriller

Length: 60 minutes

Field of Science: Technology

Stage: Development 

Synopsis: 

CLOAK & DATA is an atmospheric espionage thriller set in the underground world of Silicon Valley’s elite hackers and corporate spies. MIT grad Natalie Chen works as a junior software engineer at consumer tech giant Hexagon, whose massive campus sits on an artificial island in the middle of the San Francisco Bay. In contrast to the Silicon Valley opulence that surrounds her, Natalie comes from a humble working-class family, and the bulk of her earnings go toward paying down a mountain of school loans and her aging father’s medical bills.

When her father gets hospitalized again, Natalie takes on a weekend side gig with Luminescence, a mysterious startup, to earn extra cash. But she soon discovers that Luminescence is actually a front for a hacker collective that enlists tech workers to steal data and trade secrets from their employers. As Natalie gets drawn into the world of corporate espionage, she’ll discover that not everything is black and white, because in Silicon Valley, the heroes and villains are often one and the same—two sides of the same person, or the same company. On this dangerous collision course with elite hackers, law enforcement, and the NSA, can Natalie make it out of the lion’s den with her identity and integrity intact?

Amidst the weekly escapism of thrilling hacks and heists, CLOAK & DATA speaks to pressing issues of our time, contributing to the conversations on data privacy, surveillance tech, and the consequences of living in an always-connected world.