Founded 2005 Headquarters New York, New York | Founder Thor Halvorssen | |
Focus "Bringing the idea of Freedom to life." Area served Worldwide, focusing on the United States Method film production, human rights advocacy | ||
The Moving Picture Institute (MPI) is an American non-profit organization and film production company founded in 2005 by human rights advocate Thor Halvorssen. Its current executive director is Rob Pfaltzgraff.
Contents
- Mission and purpose
- Associate filmmaker assistance programs
- Various partnerships
- Major productions
- References
MPI produces and collaborates on both fictional films, and non-fictional, often documentary-style films. The subjects of MPI's films typically center on concepts like human rights and individual freedoms, and governmental waste and corruption. It uses its films as a medium through which these kinds of social and economic troubles are brought to public attention to shape public perceptions, and ultimately, to change society's values. As Halvorssen explains, "Put it this way: What Sideways did for Pinot noir, I want to do for freedom." Public exposure to freedom-oriented ideas, they contend, will contribute to the improvement of these important issues which they feel tend to be ignored by other traditional media outlets.
Mission and purpose
Central to the MPI's mission is the promotion of what it refers to as, "freedom-oriented" ideals, through the production of films, as well as the collaboration with and lending of assistance to filmmakers whose films effectively promote similarly freedom-oriented messages that the organization regards as basic human rights: freedom of speech, and of association, and the general conservation of individual rights and freedoms in a free-enterprise system.
Associate filmmaker assistance programs
The type of assistance that the Moving Picture Institute provides to other filmmakers varies based on the need of the filmmaker. It facilitates developing filmmakers through a major internship program, provides support to filmmakers with demonstrable capacity to succeed in the entertainment industry, and promotes narrative features, documentary features, and shorts that communicate its principles. MPI funds films from development through post-production; it also funds developing filmmakers and serves as an intern placement service.
Various partnerships
The Moving Pictures Institute has collaborated with individuals from different political and ideological standpoints on projects for which their common goal is the promotion of "truth and freedom" universally in today's society. Examples include: the film Battle for Brooklyn with filmmakers Michael Galinsky, Suki Hawley, and David Beilinson; Hammer & Tickle with Ben Lewis; and Freedom's Fury which was executive produced by Quentin Tarantino and Lucy Liu. MPI is an associate member of the State Policy Network.
Major productions
MPI is involved in the production and promotion of the following narrative and documentary films: