We are excited to announce MPI filmmaker Hilary Miller as the winner of MPI’s 2026 Short Film Lab for her short film Carin’. As this year’s winner, Hilary received a $10,000 grant and will advance Carin’ to MPI’s Production Lab, where the project will be produced as an MPI Original short film.

Hilary was selected during MPI’s recent Meet the Filmmakers event in NYC, where she and two other Short Film Lab finalists pitched their projects live at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) before an audience of MPI filmmakers and supporters. Attendees then voted for the short they would most like to see, with Carin’ receiving the most votes. The final tally was remarkably close, with the other two projects finishing just a few votes behind, reflecting the strength of all three finalists and their projects.

Carin’ is a comedic “Karen” origin story with irreverent fantasy elements. The film follows a paranoid woman who stalks a little girl around a convenience store, saving her from imagined dangers, including death by soup can, until the busybody crusader becomes the only real threat.

Through its offbeat comedy, Carin’ asks audiences to examine the motivations behind their own actions: Do we really want to help, or do we just want control? Hilary describes the project as “like if the Coen brothers made Matilda” and says it reflects the kinds of stories she hopes to tell as a filmmaker: comedies that champion underdogs seeking freedom, virtue, and love.

Hilary first became involved with MPI more than a decade ago as an intern. This year, she returned to MPI as a filmmaker, joining the Short Film Lab in January to develop Carin’ through script workshops, directing exercises, mentorship, and feedback from her fellow filmmakers and industry professionals.

“I have been in MPI’s orbit for over a decade,” Hilary said. “It feels like a great homecoming to now be an MPI filmmaker, and it’s been thrilling to be in this Short Film Lab.”

For Hilary, one of the highlights of the lab was the community she built with the other participating filmmakers.

“I have loved, loved, loved my cohort; they are brilliant filmmakers, and we really came together to encourage and challenge one another,” Hilary said. “I’m so excited to see their stories come to life. MPI’s Nicole and Lana were a wealth of story knowledge and helped push each of our scripts forward, and they brought in tremendous professionals who generously offered words of wisdom.”

Hilary is a Los Angeles-based writer and comedian with an MFA in screenwriting from Pepperdine University and a background in improv comedy. 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.

Reflecting on being selected as this year’s winner, Hilary said:

“I feel very honored and overwhelmed with gratitude to be this year’s Short Film Lab winner. What an amazing stamp of validation. I’m soaking up this moment, and I am excited for what’s next!”

She added, “I’m so thankful to the MPI supporters who have unknowingly been the Wilson to my Tom Hanks on the desert island of show business.”