The MPI Original short The Art of Inflation has won the Jury Prize for Best Short Narrative at the Ashland Film Festival in Oregon.

A festival juror praised the film as “a gorgeous, inventive work with exceptional craft and production value,” noting that it brings viewers “intimately close to three people striving for survival and love in a world shaped by political injustice.”

Written and directed by MPI filmmakers Brett Wietecha and Tim Hedberg, the film is set during Venezuela’s economic collapse and follows two brothers forced to work on a militia-run coca farm as they plan their escape. When the younger brother risks everything for freedom—and for the girl he loves—their bond is tested in a fight for survival.

Next, the film will be featured at an upcoming event in Madrid on June 11, hosted by the Instituto Juan de Mariana in collaboration with MPI and CEU CEFAS. The event will explore inflation not only as an economic phenomenon but as a force that shapes political power, institutions, and individual freedom.

The program will include a keynote lecture, a screening of The Art of Inflation, and a conversation with the filmmakers, followed by a panel discussion with experts on Venezuela examining the broader implications of chronic inflation. Get your tickets here.