The MPI Original short documentary A Clean Slate and the MPI Original short dramedy A Piece of Cake have been selected to screen as official selections at the Oscar-qualifying Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) next month. The festival is one of the longest running and largest festivals in the country.

A Clean Slate was developed by MPI filmmaker Trần Hoàng Calvin in an MPI Documentary Production Lab. This uplifting documentary follows Shanyeill McCloud’s work with Clean Slate Milwaukee, a nonprofit she founded in 2012 which helps formerly incarcerated people expunge their records and start their lives again. The film will be in the Groundbreaker Shorts block on Friday, April 5. Learn more here.

A Piece of Cake was written and directed by MPI filmmakers Austin and Meredith Bragg in MPI’s Short Film Lab. The hilarious short stars Rich Sommer (GLOW, Mad Men) as Jim, a father on a high-stakes journey to secure the banned birthday cake decorations he promised his daughter. In an effort not to break another “daddy promise,” Jim must venture into the underground world of illicit cake decorations where prices are high, smugglers are hardened, and police are on the lookout. The film originally screened at the festival in 2020 and is available this year in the festival’s Comedy Shorts Retro Program block on Monday, April 8. Learn more here.

Both films will also be available to watch online on CIFF48 Streams from April 14–21, 2024. In addition, A Clean Slate will be available as part of CIFF’s virtual FilmSlam® Streams, a media literacy program and mini-festival of films for students grade 5–12.