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The 69th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) will take place April 24 – May 4, in theaters across San Francisco and Berkeley, California. As part of SFFILM’s ongoing partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, each year the festival’s lineup includes the annual presentation of the Sloan Science on Screen Award, which celebrates the compelling depiction of science in a narrative feature film. This year, the honor goes to Ildikó Enyedi’s SILENT FRIEND. The feature film starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Léa Seydoux celebrated its North American premiere as the Sloan Science on Screen Showcase selection during the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and Museum of the Moving Image will host its New York premiere at the upcoming 15th edition of its annual festival, First Look. 1-2 Special will release the film in theaters soon after.
Winner of the 2026 Sloan Science on Screen Award:
SILENT FRIEND. Dir. Ildikó Enyedi. An ancient ginkgo tree enchants longing souls across more than a century in this spellbinding cinematic triptych starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Léa Seydoux.
SFFILM’s April 26 screening will feature a conversation between director Ildikó Enyedi and a member of the scientific community. Enyedi will also be in person for the film’s New York premiere on May 2 at First Look 2026.
Beyond SILENT FRIEND, we have identified the other science and technology themed films to look out for at SFFILM 2026, as well as the Sloan grantees showcasing new work at the festival. Below, read more about these exciting projects – including First Look 2026 selections JOYBUBBLES and HOT WATER – with descriptions quoted from the festival programmers.
Science Films at SFFFILM 2026:
DAUGHTERS OF THE FOREST: MYCELIUM CHRONICLES. Dir. Otilia Portillo Padua. “The mushrooms speak in this inventive sci-fi documentary that follows indigenous female mycologists as they document and preserve the intricate bonds between humans and fungi.”
JOYBUBBLES. Dir. Rachael Morrison. “Born blind and longing for connection, Joe Engressia—later known as Joybubbles—discovers he can hack the analog telephone network with whistles, transforming curiosity into connection and sparking the phone-phreak movement.”
Still from JOYBUBBLES. Courtesy of Visit Films.
Catch the New York premiere of JOYBUBBLES with director Rachael Morrison in person on May 2, 2026 as part of MoMI’s First Look 2026.
NUISANCE BEAR. Dirs: Gabriela Osio Vanden, Jack Weisman. “A yearling polar bear embodies his species in this immersive, poetic Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner, revealing the tense, fraught balance between humans and nature’s apex predator.”
SPACE CADET. Dir. Kid Koala. “A young astronaut embarks on her first mission, leaving her caretaker robot behind in this music-driven, animated adventure that spans the universe.”
TIME & WATER. Dir. Sara Dosa. “Writer Andri Snær Magnason reckons with the death of Okjökull, the first glacier lost to climate change, as Sara Dosa’s striking documentary blends vanishing ice, family memory, and urgent witness.”
Sloan Grantees at SFFILM 2026:
Ramzi Bashour, who earned Sloan grants in 2018 and 2021 for THE TREES and YES CHEF AND THE MUSHROOM KING respectively, will present his new feature film HOT WATER following its New York premiere at First Look 2026:
HOT WATER. Dir. Ramzi Bashour. “Ramzi Bashour’s poignant road movie depicts an anxious mother transporting her delinquent son from Indiana to California and highlights the glories of the American Midwest while unpacking the dynamics of parenting and letting go.”
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Still from HOT WATER. Courtesy of Rich Spirit.
Cristina Costantini, whose documentary SALLY won the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, will present a new film as part of a mid-length program at SFFILM:
LA TIERRA DEL VALOR (THE HOME OF THE BRAVE). Dir. Cristina Costantini. Nezza (Vanessa Hernandez) defies orders at a Dodgers game, singing the US national anthem in Spanish, honoring the 1945 “El Pendón Estrellado,” and inspiring hope in her community.
Jess X. Snow, whose film ROOTS THAT REACH TOWARD THE SKY earned a Sloan production award at NYU in 2021, co-directed a new short film that will be presented as part of SFFILM’s 2026 Shorts Block 1: Human Flow:
TAMASHI. Dirs. Jess X. Snow, Ashima Shiraishi. “Traverse cityscapes, valleys, highways, and borders through films by an international ensemble of storytellers. Conversations between people and land are as alive as human dialogue in these earnest portrayals of gathering and return.”
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