Today, SFFILM announced the program slate of the Sloan Science in Cinema Initiative at the 68th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival), which runs April 17–27.
A Festival Talk, free to the public, will feature director Lee Isaac Chung accepting the Sloan Science in Cinema Prize for his latest film, Twisters, followed by a special onstage conversation on the integration of science and cinematic tools to depict extreme weather. Lee Isaac Chung (Minari, The Mandalorian) will be joined onstage by Director of the Global Systems Laboratory (GSL), Kevin Kelleher, who spent 26 years at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and served as technical consultant on both Twister (1996) and Twisters (2024); Tapio Schneider, Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering at Caltech Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences; Twisters’ supervising sound editor and sound designer Al Nelson (Jurassic World, Top Gun: Maverick) and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) visual effects supervisor Florian Witzel (Avengers, The Mandalorian).
“We are thrilled to award this year’s Sloan Science in Cinema Prize to Lee Isaac Chung’s hit film Twisters and this year’s Sloan Science on Screen Award to Cyprien Vial’s thought-provoking film Magma,” said Doron Weber, Vice President and Program Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “While taking some liberties with the science, these two disaster films feature credible scientists as major protagonists and are based on the latest scientific research. They join a nationwide program that has supported over 850 science and film projects with 20 partners and, in addition to supporting screenwriters at SFFILM, has honored outstanding films such as Oppenheimer, Don’t Look Up, and Hidden Figures.”
Presented in partnership between the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and SFFILM, this year’s program includes three public events. Screening as part of the Festival lineup are Cyprien Vial’s volcano thriller Magma, recipient of the Sloan Science on Screen Award, and Cristina Costantini’s documentary Sally, which is the Sloan Science on Screen Selection.
“This year’s slate of Sloan supported titles highlights a diverse set of stories that explore the intersection of scientific achievement and the human experience. We are proud to present this timely and powerful group of films with our partners,” stated SFFILM’s Director of Programming Jessie Fairbanks. “From high-stakes challenges to personal triumphs, these films explore complex scientific themes while offering fresh, emotional insights into the human condition.”
SFFILM will honor the film Twisters, starring Glen Powell (Hit Man, Top Gun: Maverick), Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People, War of the Worlds) and Anthony Ramos (Hamilton, Blindspotting), with the prestigious Sloan Science in Cinema Prize, which celebrates the compelling depiction of scientific themes or characters in a narrative feature film, accompanied by a $20,000 cash prize. Along with the award presentation, the special event will include an onstage panel discussion featuring director Lee Isaac Chung (Minari, The Mandalorian) in conversation with highly-regarded science and film craft experts who will delve into the technology and science behind the extreme storms depicted on screen. Panel participants include Kevin Kelleher, Director of the Global Systems Laboratory (GSL), who was also a technical consultant on the film; Tapio Schneider, Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering at Caltech Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences; Twister’s supervising sound editor and sound designer Al Nelson (Jurassic World, Top Gun: Maverick) and the film’s Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) visual effects supervisor Florian Witzel (Avengers, The Mandalorian). This event is free and open to the public with RSVP.
