MPI 2025 Annual Report

MPI First Feature Lab Deepening MPI’s Commitment to Freedom-Driven Storytelling I n 2025, MPI received a major grant that enabled the launch of the First Feature Lab. This lab provides the most promising and proven

MPI Script Development Fellowship Fueling the Next Wave of MPI Originals E very story begins with a single idea—and through MPI’s Script Development Fellowship, those ideas are being shaped into powerful, production-ready screenplays that feed directly into our film slate. The Script Development

My experience in MPI’s First Feature Lab has been fantastic, making possible my long-held dream of screenwriting with a clear pathway toward directing my first feature film. The lab—and the extraordinary support of the MPI team—has given me the creative momentum and confidence to take this next step after years of growing as an MPI filmmaker. —LAURA WATERS HINSON, MPI FILMMAKER AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF FILM AT AMERICAN UNIVERSITY

Fellowship gave me the space and support to take my screenplay Coolidge to the next level. MPI is helping filmmakers refine their stories, and it’s also building a slate of projects ready to become the next MPI Original film. —NICOLE ROEWE, MPI DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT AND WRITER OF MOTHERLAND AND COOLIDGE

mission-aligned filmmakers in our pipeline with the unique opportunity to write and direct their first feature-length film—what many describe as the final hurdle to breaking into the industry. The strength of MPI’s First Feature Lab is magnified by its close connection to MPI Original Films. This collaboration ensures that the creative work underway is reinforced through real-world production experience, creating a continuum from early story shaping to on-set execution that benefits both the filmmakers and the finished films. Nine filmmakers were selected for the inaugural cohort of this lab. They are starting with a Script Development Fellowship, working closely with the MPI producing team to prepare treatments, write drafts, and finalize their scripts. The most compelling projects will then be produced as MPI Original films.

In 2025, six filmmakers developed five screenplays through fellowships, working closely with MPI producers and experienced industry mentors to refine their concepts, strengthen their scripts, and ground their stories in themes of liberty, responsibility, and human dignity. The Script Development Fellowship is fueling the next generation of MPI Originals. Recent projects developed through the fellowship include In Order to Live , Against the Tide , The Secret List , Coolidge , and The Armageddon Report . Four of these now comprise the MPI Original Films slate.

Top row, left to right: Heston Roewe, Tanner Mobley, Brett Wietecha, Caroline Friend, Cyrus Saidi; Bottom row, left to right: Laura Waters Hinson, Monica Cecilia Lucas, Tim Hedberg, Toby Fell-Holden