Screenwriter Yoel Gebremariam, winner of the 2024 Sloan Student Discovery Prize, made history by becoming the first student from University of Michigan to win the prize since its inception. Earlier this year, Gebremariam was celebrated with at Museum of the Moving Image’s First Look Festival, where staged readings of excerpts from his winning script IMPACT were performed by professional actors before he was presented with his award by Artistic Director of the Southampton Playhouse and former Indiewire editor Eric Kohn. IMPACT harnesses all the perennial delights audiences have come to expect from films set in space while offering a fresh perspective into space programs beyond the United States. Sloan Science & Film spoke with Gebremariam about IMPACT’s development and its inspirations on and off the screen – from India’s Chandrayaan space program to Ridley Scott’s Sloan-awarded film THE MARTIAN.
SS&F: IMPACT is a thrilling space drama with international collaboration at its core. What inspired this story?
Yoel Gebremariam: This story was born from two ingredients during a college brainstorm session: the real-life developments of the Artemis and Chandrayaan space programs, and the question of how a meteor storm on the Moon could be detected, defended, and escaped from safely. Combining those two ingredients with a multi-country Moon landing became the foundation for my first feature screenplay.
SS&F: The film imagines a joint U.S.-India Moon mission. Why was it important for you to include international space programs in the narrative?
YG: I wanted the Moon mission to showcase how two people from different walks of life would solve a problem that no one has ever faced together, and having two nations' space programs meeting on the Moon was a unique foundation to build that relationship. India's real-life achievements with the Chandrayaan program in recent years became the springboard for a new perspective on how spaceflight can uplift a community, while giving our American astronaut a great foil.
SS&F: Are there any films or filmmakers you’re particularly inspired by?
YG: The biggest influences on this script was Ron Howard's APOLLO 13, a movie my brother (a pilot) and I have watched and loved for years, THE MARTIAN, and the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE films. The intense internal and external tension of APOLLO 13's real-life astronauts, combined with the high-stakes problem solving in THE MARTIAN and the precisely-paced action of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, was exactly what I wanted to bring together when crafting the script's blend of action and character.
SS&F: What has it been like to work with a science advisor to ensure accuracy in the script?
YG: Working with Dr. Sidney Perkowitz has been a fantastic experience that's not only helped the script become more accurate, but also opened my eyes to many new ways to incorporate the natural beauty beyond into a story centered around exploring it. In our first brainstorm, he noted that meteor showers are often part of or accompanying comets as they move past planets, which inspired me to revise the story's setup with this knowledge in mind. Collaborating with him has elevated this story so much, and I'm very grateful I've had the chance to learn from him.
Eric Kohn, Yoel Gebremariam, Vice President and Program Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Doron Weber, 2024 Grand Jury Prizewinner Brittany Wang and filmmaker Sharon Shattuck at MoMI's 2025 First Look Festival. Photo Credit: Thanassi Karageorgiou
SS&F: The title IMPACT has multiple meanings—can you talk about how that theme plays out in the story?
YG: Beyond referring to the physical dangers our heroes face, IMPACT also refers to the national and personal legacies each astronaut hopes to leave. One man's trying to pull his village out of poverty, while the other is trying to reignite his country's interest in space, save his protege's future, and finally reconnect with his daughter. The core question of the story, inspired by the visual of our main character looking out at the blue marble after he lands on the moon, was ‘When you reach your greatest achievement, when you stand on top of the mountain, who do you think of first?’ That question is what informs our core characters and their journey together across every trial.
SS&F: What challenges did you face in writing a story that blends blockbuster spectacle with nuanced character development? Did any actors come to mind when you were shaping the characters?
YG: The biggest challenge, unsurprisingly, was balancing the spectacle with the drama behind it. Writing action takes a lot of time (and space!), and if the balance is off, characters become static and action gets stale. A core focus of my writing and rewriting process has always been on trimming action to keep it punchy, while elevating the character moments to be frequent and meaningful, ensuring both characters and their obstacles progress consistently. Tom Cruise and Dev Patel came to mind early on when shaping the main characters, given their work in action-driven stories that balance nuanced characters like MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE and MONKEY MAN, respectively.
SS&F: How has the Sloan Student Discovery Prize helped shape your vision for the film’s future?
YG: The Sloan Discovery Prize has been invaluable as I quickly learned more about the industry, where this story needs to grow, and where it could fit in the continually shifting marketplace. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's support through my industry and science mentors have helped me find new connections, elevate my script further, and learn and target its continued development through additional competitions and fellowship opportunities. I'm extremely grateful for their continued support.
SS&F: Do you see yourself continuing to explore science-based storytelling in your future work?
YG: Yes! Working to fold science into my screenplays is something I hope to incorporate into every story I write. Beyond IMPACT, I'm currently writing a feature set during the London Blitz in World War 2, and while the typical focus is historical accuracy, I'm excited to build on it by researching the physical and psychological effects of the war on the home front and how so many men and women still chose to stand and fight, every day. This focus on accurately bringing science-based stories to the screen is something I'll build on in IMPACT and many stories to come.
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