For more than a decade, filmmaker Caroline Friend worked full time in the entertainment industry while trying to get her own directing projects off the ground. Then she brought an ambitious screenplay called Poisoned Skies to MPI. That screenplay is now a finished MPI Original short film traveling the festival circuit, and Caroline is now developing a feature script through MPI’s First Feature Lab.

Through MPI’s Short Film Lab, Caroline received the mentorship, feedback, and support she needed to strengthen Poisoned Skies, a period drama inspired by true events about a scientist who risks her career and safety to expose the truth and stand up to powerful special interests. When the project advanced into MPI’s Production Lab, MPI provided the financial and production support to turn Caroline’s ambitious vision into a finished film.

For Caroline, MPI’s support meant more than getting one film made. It gave her the chance to step beyond her day job, prove herself as a director, and create a calling card for the next stage of her career. “MPI has had a direct impact on the trajectory of my career,” she said.

Now, Poisoned Skies is reaching audiences at festivals across the country and beyond. After screenings at the Emerging Filmmaker Showcase during the Cannes Film Festival, Palm Springs International ShortFest, and Indy Shorts, the film made its Los Angeles premiere at the Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival, where 23 members of MPI’s Los Angeles filmmaker community came out to support Caroline. Along the way, MPI has supported Caroline with festival strategy, travel assistance, and industry connections.

September is shaping up to be a particularly busy month for Poisoned Skies. The film will screen at the SIMI Film Fest in Simi Valley, California, on September 18; the Breck Film Festival in Breckenridge, Colorado, on September 19; and the Catalina Film Festival and the Arpa International Film Festival in Southern California on September 26. It will also screen at The Women’s Film Festival and as part of the Boston Film Festival’s virtual program before making its South American premiere at Filmambiente in Rio de Janeiro on September 30. Each festival gives Caroline another chance to share her work, make professional connections, and turn the success of her short into the next stage of her career.

Watch the trailer here and go behind the scenes of the production here.

MPI continues to work with Caroline as she builds on that momentum. Through MPI’s First Feature Lab, she is developing the script for Etiquette & Other Disasters, a Regency dramedy, with ongoing mentorship, feedback, and guidance.