Congratulations to MPI filmmaker Chris Edgar, whose screenplay Power Day won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Screenplay at the Richmond Film Festival. Set in a post-nuclear Armageddon world where the state confines people to their homes and rations electrical power, Power Day follows a young girl who must decide whether to defy the authorities to save her ailing mother. 

Chris is a former Supreme Court clerk turned full-time composer and screenwriter. He applied and joined MPI’s 2021 Short Film Lab, where he developed and honed the screenplay for Power Day under the direction of MPI filmmaker Toby Fell-Holden and MPI senior vice president Lana Link. 

“Working with the MPI Short Film Lab leveled up so many aspects of my script,” said Chris. “The sci-fi worldbuilding of the piece became more consistent, the stakes facing the characters were raised, and the dialogue got punchier. I definitely encourage anyone looking to improve their script to apply for the Lab.”

Chris has completed post-production on the short film, which he also directed, and is now submitting to film festivals.