The Sundance Film Festival closed out the fifth day of its 41st edition with the announcement of the latest artists to earn recognition from its Science-In-Film Initiative, a partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. This follows the Sundance Institute’s announcement that Cristina Costantini’s documentary SALLY won the 2025 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize.
Selected by a jury of film and science professionals and presented to an outstanding feature film
focusing on science or technology as a theme, or depicting a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a major character, the Sloan Feature Film Prize includes a $25,000 cash award. The 2025 jury for the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize included artist and astrophysicist Dr. Nia Imara, AI entrepreneur Dr. Monica Lopez, and Sloan grantees Nicholas Ma (MABEL), Michael Almereyda (TESLA), and the 2024 winners of the prize, Sam and Andy Zuchero (LOVE ME).
In addition to the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize, the Sundance Institute announced three grants for projects in active development. The winners were honored at a reception in Park City, which was preceded by a Sloan-sponsored panel discussion, The Big Conversation: Breaking Barriers. Panelists Cristina Costantini, Sloan grantee Nicole Perlman, genetics professor Dr. Chao-ting Wu, and NASA astronaut Dr. Cady Coleman discussed what it means to break barriers in art and science, a central theme of SALLY.
Read more about all of the winning projects and the artists behind them below.
-------
Winner of the 2025 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize:
SALLY
Cristina Costantini
Sally Ride became the first American woman to blast off into space, but beneath her unflappable composure was a secret. Sally’s life partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy, reveals their hidden romance and the sacrifices that accompanied their 27 years together.
SALLY made its world premiere at the festival on January 28, followed by a reception where Costantini received her $25,000 cash award. The film will be available to view online as part of the festival starting January 30.
Winner of the 2025 Sloan Episodic Fellowship:
GREENWASHERS (Series)
Ella Gale
An idealistic young environmental engineer gets sucked into a water rights conspiracy at a shady consulting company.
Gale receives a $17,000 cash award as part of the fellowship, the first Sloan grant of her career.
Winner of the 2025 Sloan Development Fellowship:
ERUPTION (Feature)
Katla Sólnes
In the highlands of Iceland in 1972, a geologist’s wife finds her marriage tested when a wily American student arrives, stirring tensions as volatile as the volcanic landscape.
Sólnes also received a $17,000 cash award as part of the fellowship. She previously won a 2024 Sloan Screenwriting grant at Columbia University with ERUPTION, and was a finalist for the 2024 Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize.
Winner of 2025 the Sloan Commissioning Grant:
THIN ICE (Series)
Brittany Wang
In 1999, graduate student Jane Willenbring embarks on a research expedition under renowned glaciologist David Marchant. Upon reaching the remote Antarctic camp, Jane is forced to endure his endless physical and psychological torment. 17 years later, now an award-winning geomorphologist herself, can Jane face her past and bring Marchant to justice?
Variety recently announced Wang as recipient of the 2024 Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize, prior to which she won a 2024 Sloan Screenwriting Award at USC. With the 2025 Sloan Commissioning Grant ($25,000), Wang has earned a total of $62,500 in financial support from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to develop THIN ICE, a prime example of the development pipeline built by the foundation’s film program.
FILMMAKERS
PARTNERS
TOPICS
SHARE