Museum of the Moving Image and Sloan Science & Film have announced the ten finalists in contention for the 2021 Sloan Student Prizes. This is our inaugural year administering these awards on behalf of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; they were previously administerd by the Tribeca Film Institute. The Sloan Student Grand Jury and Discovery Prizes are juried awards which celebrate two outstanding screenplays for feature film or scripted series that integrate science or technology themes and characters into realistic, compelling, and timely stories. The prizes also aim to support film development and advance the careers of diverse, emerging filmmakers as they transition out of film school and into the film industry. Each finalist—nominated by one of twelve top film programs across the nation—stands to win a $20,000 prize, industry exposure, and year-round mentorship from both a science advisor and film industry professional.
Two winners will be selected by a jury of esteemed film and science professionals, which for the first time will be all women. The 2021 jury includes: actress Cara Seymour (RADIUM GIRLS, THE KNICK), producer Natalie Qasabian (SEARCHING, RUN), Cinetic’s Head of Tracking Alexis Galfas, Princeton University Historian of Technology Dr. Emily Thompson, Cornell Tech Interaction Design Specialist Dr. Wendy Ju, and marine biochemist Dr. Bethanie Edwards of University of California, Berkeley. The jury will decide on two winners, which will be announced on December 3, 2021, followed by a public awards ceremony in January 2022 at Museum of the Moving Image.
Here is the full list of finalists:
The 2021 SLOAN STUDENT GRAND JURY PRIZE Finalists:
Nominated by six graduate film programs that have year-round partnerships with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to award screenplay and production grants.
SHATTERED FACES by Ariane Hahusseau (Pilot)
American Film Institute (AFI)
GOING DUTCH by Kate Condé Hamilton (Feature)
Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama
DAMASCUS by Cole Smith (Feature)
Columbia University
A LONG TIME AGO... by Steven Kraeger (Feature)
NYU Tisch School of the Arts
THE SLEEPWATCHERS by Yashna Malhotra (Pilot)
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
STARLIGHT by Marisa Torelli Pedevska (Pilot)
USC School of Cinematic Arts
The 2021 SLOAN STUDENT DISCOVERY PRIZE Finalists:
Nominated by university film programs that have no preexisting relationship with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
IN THE STARS by Amanda Senrra (Feature)
Florida State University
THE GENTLE ART by Olivia Salzman (Feature)
SUNY Purchase School of Film and Media Studies
DELTA by Juli Jackson (Pilot)
Temple University
A SECOND CHANCE by Shalini Roy (Feature)
University of Michigan
Each of these finalists has already received script notes and tailored feedback from an assigned writing mentor. The 2021 writing mentors were: Claudia Weill (GIRLFRIENDS), Musa Syeed (VALLEY OF SAINTS), Nissar Modi (Z FOR ZACHARIAH), Luca Borghese (OKJA), Conner Literary's Literary Director Emily Rappaport, and Bellevue Productions's Literary Manager Kate Sharp.
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