Deadline: Short Film Lab // Virtual

MPI is pleased to invite applications for our 2026 Short Film Lab. This comprehensive program provides filmmakers with hands-on training and mentoring to take their initial film concepts through the process of developing a producible short film script. Filmmakers accepted into the program receive fellowship grants and participate in a screenwriting workshop followed by a directing workshop.

After these stages, at least one filmmaker will be selected to receive a $10,000 grant, acquisition of their script, and the opportunity to further develop their project with MPI for potential production as an MPI Original film.

Past MPI Original shorts have premiered at top festivals, including Tribeca and SXSW, helping launch their filmmakers into the next stages of their careers. You can explore some of MPI’s completed shorts here.

MPI promotes freedom through film—an idea that can be expressed in many ways. To help guide submissions for the 2026 Short Film Lab, we’re inviting concepts related to the following theme:

A Republic, If You Can Keep It: Reflecting on America’s 250th

As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, we invite filmmakers to explore the fragile heartbeat of a democratic republic: the ongoing struggle to balance individual rights with the duties to sustain a free society. 

Inspired by Benjamin Franklin’s warning—“a republic, if you can keep it”—this theme asks filmmakers to consider what it truly takes to preserve America’s ideals. Our freedoms and institutions are not self-sustaining; they rely on citizens who embrace personal responsibility, practice civic virtue, and make everyday choices that strengthen the fabric of our nation.

We’re seeking pitches that illuminate the small moments, difficult decisions, and acts of courage that help a free society flourish—or reveal what happens when those obligations are ignored. What does it mean to keep a republic today, and what stories show the forces that hold it together or pull it apart?

We invite you to pitch concepts for short films that reflect on the continuing American story and its ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. From unsung heroes to historical figures, from innovators to ordinary people who do the right thing when it counts, what does it mean to be an American? What will it take to keep the republic free and thriving for another historic 250 years?

The possibilities are endless, and you’re free to pitch a story in any genre, but this theme is your jumping-off point.

Click here to learn more and submit your concept to the 2026 Short Film Lab. Application requirements include a résumé and a completed questionnaire detailing your concept and explaining how your project relates to MPI’s mission and the theme above. Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (PT) on Sunday, January 4, 2026. Submissions will not be accepted after that time.