The Moving Picture Institute (MPI) is proud to announce the 21 filmmakers selected for the 2026 MPI Short Film Lab, a comprehensive program that provides hands-on training and mentorship to help participants develop short film scripts for production.

This year’s theme, ‘A Republic, If You Can Keep It: Reflecting on America’s 250th,’ marks a historic moment in the nation’s story and offers filmmakers the opportunity to engage with the ideas that have shaped the American experiment. As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, participants are invited to explore the enduring tension at the heart of a democratic republic: balancing individual liberty with the responsibilities required to sustain a free society.

The lab recently began with the ten-week virtual Narrative Short Screenwriting Workshop, where filmmakers write and refine their scripts under the guidance of the MPI team and award-winning screenwriters. Through collaborative sessions, participants present drafts and receive detailed feedback while developing their projects. Each creative also receives a $1,000 grant to support their work.

From there, the most promising filmmakers advance to the Directing Workshop, where they gain practical experience in working with actors, managing crews, and preparing for production. The strongest projects move into MPI’s Production Lab, where they are developed into MPI Originals. This phase guides filmmakers through the full production process—from budgeting and casting to editing and sound mixing—with support from experienced producers.

Upon completion, participants receive guidance on promotional materials and festival strategy to help their films reach a wider audience.

Below are the 2026 Short Film Lab filmmakers: 

Nathan Bittner is a film director and editor specializing in narrative and documentary storytelling, whose work has earned multiple Telly and ADDY Awards. He recently served as lead editor for the interactive feature film The Moment: Part 1, which won a 2025 Webby Award for Best Multimedia Storytelling. In association with Distant Moon, he has led editorial for Hillsdale College Online courses and directed documentaries and commercials for mission-driven organizations. His work explores the tension between humanity and emerging technology, grounded in a focus on precision and collaboration.

Tommy Britt is a writer and teacher from Virginia. Most of his writing takes the form of film, television, literature, and music criticism, though he enjoys writing short film scripts and has won screenwriting awards at the Sidewalk Film Festival, Hollywood Just4Shorts, and the Cinalfama Lisbon International Film Festival, among others. He is newly involved with MPI and pleased to participate in the workshop.

Ryan Caldwell is a filmmaker with experience across commercial, documentary, and narrative projects. His work includes commercial productions for Boeing and the U.S. Air Force, as well as serving as first assistant director on Cronies, a Spike Lee–produced film that premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and later had a successful Netflix run. In 2020, he founded Ballistic Boy Productions, a production company known for thoughtful films like The Beggar and the Road Kid, which earned the Spreading Light Award at the 2022 Anthem Film Festival. He received the $10,000 grant prize in MPI’s 2024 Documentary Storytelling Workshop and has participated in MPI’s Theory and Fundamentals Screenwriting Workshop and Mentorship Program. He currently produces the “100% Wild Podcast” and edits long-form documentaries for the Sportsman Channel.

John Carter is a video producer at Reason. He began his career as a production sound mixer and boom operator, working on projects for W Magazine, ABC, Adult Swim, Freethink, and Samsung. John later transitioned into video production. He has participated in MPI’s Short Film Lab, Directing Workshop, the Mindful Editor Workshop, and the Short Film Theory and Fundamentals Workshop. 

Greg de Deugd is an independent writer, director, and producer whose work sits at the intersection of storytelling, policy, and cultural change. He is the founder of Teleos Films and the Teleos Institute, where he develops narrative and documentary projects centered on virtue, freedom, and human dignity. His work has screened at more than 40 festivals and earned more than 20 awards. Greg is currently developing The Cigar Maker’s Son and the feature adaptation of The Secret Game. A former creative director at the John Locke Foundation, Greg has spent his career helping mission-driven organizations translate stories into lasting cultural and educational influence.

Joe Duca is on a mission to create a more hopeful world—24 frames at a time. His first feature film, Evergreen (2019)—hailed as a “moving testament to love’s simultaneous preciousness and fragility” and a “sublime achievement”—won Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress from the Houston Broadcast Critics Association. His second feature, Her Name Was Jo (2020), premiered at the Lighthouse International Film Festival before winning Best Narrative Feature at Filmocracy Fest and the Kansas City FilmFest International. The film went on to secure distribution through Gravitas Ventures and was acquired by Paramount+ domestically and HBO Max in Europe, with an ongoing run on Amazon Prime Video. His screenplay Len & Sal in Sperryville was a finalist in the 2024 American Zoetrope Screenplay Competition. His recent documentary MPI Original short The Dying Business premiered at IndyShorts 2025.

Nickolas Gilbert is a Los Angeles–based filmmaker whose work explores moral responsibility, generational legacy, and the tension between idealism and disillusionment. His short film La Petite Mortimer won the CiVL Award for Advancing Human Respect in Media, and his screenplay End of the Line received the Jenny Wood Mentorship Prize at the ScreenCraft True Story & Public Domain Competition. Nickolas has worked in the camera department on major productions, including Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Universal) and Oz the Great and Powerful (Disney), and has participated in multiple MPI programs, including the Narrative Short Screenwriting Workshop and the Documentary Storytelling Workshop.

Vivian Kerr is a Los Angeles–based actor, writer, director, and producer working through her company Rue Dangeau. Her pilot Soft Boil was selected for the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Her feature debut Scrap, co-starring Anthony Rapp and Lana Parrilla, premiered in competition at the Deauville-American Film Festival and went on to screen at 44 festivals worldwide, earning a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Her second feature, Séance, premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival. As a writer, she won the 2024 Austin Film Festival Drama Teleplay Pilot Award for The Mitfords. Her pilot Five Points has been selected for programs including Sony Pictures Television’s Rising Storytellers Search, Stowe Story Lab, and the Moonshot Initiative Pilot Accelerator, and was recently included on the 2025 Women’s List.

Patrick Lehe is a longtime MPI filmmaker who completed the internship program in 2018, worked on the set of MPI Original A Piece of Cake, and participated in the 2021 Short Film Lab. He writes stories about complex protagonists who struggle with their vices and find virtue through spiritual awakenings. His features have been reader-recommended on the Black List, and he currently has a horror screenplay in development with director Darren Stein (Jawbreaker, GBF), which is being shopped to major production companies. On the producing side, Patrick works in development on values-driven features and series at Family Theater Productions and teaches an online screenwriting course at the University of North Georgia.

Katherine Lowman is a creative based in Baltimore, Maryland. For the past five years, she has worked as a production assistant and assistant director in film and television. She has experience working outside the DMV, including in the Pennsylvania and New York film markets. Her directorial debut, Riding With My Girl, premiered as part of DC’s 48 Hour Film Festival in 2024. The film received Best Cast Ensemble, Best Special/Visual Effects, Best Drama, and Second Place Runner-Up at the competition. 

Alejandro Miranda is a National Geographic Explorer and award-winning Indigenous-Latino filmmaker whose career bridges ancestral tradition and high-caliber cinema. As the founder of the creative studio Bravebird and a pioneer of the “Cinema Dignité” philosophy, he draws on a foundation in narrative that began as an ALMA Award–winning actor in 1998. An alumnus of the ASC Master Class, shortlisted by Hulu Kartemquin for Hulu Originals, and an Oscar-qualified director of photography, he brings a multidisciplinary approach informed by studies in theology, sociology, and film. His work includes the feature documentary Sacred Wisdom Sacred Earth, recognition as a 2026 Windrider Obreros Fellow at the Sundance Film Festival, and selection for the Disney and National Geographic Field Ready Program. His filmmaking is defined by a commitment to dignity for underrepresented voices and the power of authentic storytelling.

Matthew Middendorf, CPA, is an independent director and producer and the founder of Arctic Willow Media LLC, a production company committed to purpose-driven storytelling. His work spans documentary and narrative film. His most recent project, the documentary Skyward, began in the MPI’s Documentary Storytelling Workshop and is currently in post-production. The film follows Team USA as they prepare for and compete in the World Spacemodeling Championships, with production taking place across the United States and culminating in Serbia. Matthew began his career with MPI in 2019, completing internships at Bold Films and Film Finances Inc., where he developed a foundation in film development, production, and entertainment finance. He remains actively engaged in the film community through independent projects and creative collaborations.

Hilary Miller is a Los Angeles–based writer and comedian. She holds an MFA from Pepperdine’s screenwriting program and is a former “pro athlete” with ComedySportz. Her screenplays have placed in the top 15 percent of the Academy Nicholl Fellowship. She currently teaches English literature at a Christian high school in Santa Monica, where she enjoys making a tough crowd laugh, cringe, and care about stories. She has been an MPI intern and is now an MPI filmmaker.

Kaitlin Moose is a writer/director from Greenville, SC. She earned her BA in secondary education from Clemson University and has a soft spot for “edutainment.” Moose previously took part in MPI’s Documentary Storytelling Workshop. She has won awards for her topical films, including Adultlings and Rough Draft, and created the aviation short On Borrowed Wings for MPI’s Collaboration Filmmakers Challenge.

AJ Moss is a filmmaker who began his career at the LDS Motion Picture Studio, where he served a two-year mission and gained hands-on experience across multiple roles, including co-producer, writer, production assistant, special effects assistant, and grip. He first earned recognition in high school, winning first place in the short film category at the Utah High School Film Festival. He received his degree in digital media from UVU, where he focused on screenwriting and directing. He later joined MPI through an internship and participated in the Screenwriting Theory and Fundamentals Workshop. Today, AJ works full-time with YouTuber DevinSuperTramp, continuing to develop his technical expertise in filmmaking. He edits, produces, writes, and films behind-the-scenes content. When not working with Devin, AJ writes and directs his own shorts and features and is developing his first feature film.

Elliot Palatnik currently serves as a coordinator to the CEO of Fox Entertainment, supporting the execution of his strategic vision and objectives for the company. In this role, he assists in facilitating key initiatives and aligning operations with the CEO’s goals, contributing to the organization’s overall success and growth.

Robert Anthony Peters is an actor and filmmaker. After graduating from the University of Arizona with a degree in marketing and entrepreneurship, he was a Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow in Washington, DC, and subsequently trained at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York City. A member of SAG-AFTRA, he has worked professionally in theater, film, and voiceover for more than two decades. His most recognizable film roles include The Pursuit of Happyness and Steve Jobs. He records audiobooks and is a policy advisor for the Heartland Institute, a fellow with the Archbridge Institute and the Center for American Culture and Ideas, and chair of the board of the Fully Informed Jury Association. This will be his third MPI writing workshop. His debut as a writer, director, and producer was the award-winning Tank Man. He is set to reprise the role of Vaněk in Václav Havel’s trilogy of one-acts for Bricolage Productions and will appear as Luke in the MPI Original feature One Second After.

Harrison Wade Reishman is a filmmaker, writer, board game designer, and artist with nearly two decades of experience in Hollywood production and development. He began his career at Entertainment One, where he worked on television series for HBO, AMC, and FX, and later became a television development executive, selling original series to major networks. His filmmaking career accelerated after receiving a grant from Taliesin Nexus in 2018, and he has since become an award-winning short film director with credits spanning writing, directing, producing, editing, and acting. In 2023, Harrison expanded his storytelling into tabletop games by designing and publishing his debut party game, Story Wars, and founding the gaming company Writers Room. The company is currently developing its second title, The Island of Dr. Moreau.

Paul Santoli moved to Los Angeles in 2019. Since then, he has earned 39 awards and nominations for his work across multiple fields. In 2021, he began building his production company, A 516 Productions. His first film, Because of Mika, which he wrote, directed, and starred in, is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. His second film, We Want the Virus, which he also wrote, directed, and starred in, is in development.

Lauren Spohn is a writer-director-producer, and an assistant professor of intellectual history at the University of Texas at Austin. Her work spans documentary, narrative, and animation and has been featured in a variety of domestic and international outlets. Most recently, Lauren was assistant director, co-writer, and associate producer on a four-part docuseries about a 16th-century samurai saint for EWTN+. She is currently writing and directing an animated short executive-produced by Oscar-nominated director Tim Reckart and has previously participated in several MPI workshops. After studying English literature at Harvard College, she completed a doctorate in philosophical theology at the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.

Alicia Stahley is a film professional with a background in production and script supervision. She began her formal education at Full Sail University and further developed her skills through the Director Whisperer Program with Daniela Saioni and the Cinema Workshop with Randi Feldman, focusing on continuity, visual storytelling, and on-set collaboration. She has contributed to a range of independent and professional projects across film, video, and multimedia, bringing a detail-oriented and collaborative approach to her work. Alicia continues to pursue projects that challenge her craft while mentoring emerging filmmakers.