Sloan Science & Film, an initiative of the Museum of the Moving Image, examines the intersection of science and cinema. Publishing weekly, the online publication features interviews with filmmakers and scientists, news about goings on in the world of science and film, and original articles exploring the cinematic depictions of scientific ideas and the science of film. Sloan Science & Film's "Peer Review" commissioning series publishes original writing by scientists on topics in current film and television. On the website, over 60 science-themed short films are available to stream any time, all of which have received grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for their depictions of scientific themes and characters. These films are part of the over 700 film projects that have been supported by the Sloan Foundation that Sloan Science & Film catalogues with loglines and filmmaker biographies.
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FILM SERIES
The Sloan Science & Film initiative also encompasses Museum of the Moving Image's ongoing Science on Screen series. Science on Screen combines screenings of rarely-seen films with conversations between scientists and filmmakers. Films span from the silent era through those made for the Internet; subjects range from seahorses to robotic clones. The series has featured the work of such filmmmakers as Isabella Rossellini, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Barbara Hammer, and Alex Rivera, who have discussed topics including marine organisms, reproductive biology, and human-robot interactions with scientists including Mandë Holford, Fabien Cousteau, and Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello.
EDUCATION RESOURCES
Sloan Science & Film has published two freely available education guides to short and feature science-related films. All of these films have been supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for their depiction of scientific themes and characters.
The Sloan Science & Film Short Film Teacher's Guide is a guide to 50 short, science-related films that can be streamed on this website or our Vimeo channel. Each film is indexed by scientific subject matter, correlated with National Next Generation Science Standards, and offers discussion questions as well as vetted links to scientific resources for further engagement. The Guide can be viewed online or downloaded as a PDF.
The Sloan Science & Film Feature Film Companion Guide accompanies 46 science-based feature films (such as Hidden Figures and Primer) catalogued by scientific subject matter, correlated for age appropriateness, and accompanied by discussion questions and vetted resources for continued engagement. The Companion Guide can be viewed online or downloaded as a PDF.
SLOAN STUDENT PRIZES
Museum of the Moving Image and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation together award the Sloan Student Prizes. Created to celebrate outstanding feature film screenplays or series that integrate science or technology into realistic, compelling, and timely stories, the Sloan Student Prizes aim to support film development and advance the careers of diverse, emerging filmmakers as they transition out of graduate school and into the film industry. Each winner will receive $20,000, industry exposure, and mentorship from a film industry professional and science advisor.
The recipients of the 2021 Sloan Student prizes were Marisa Torelli-Pedevska for Starlight and Juli Jackson for the scripted series Delta, awarded at a virtual event hosted by Museum of the Moving Image on January 19, 2022.
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