Cyprien Vial’s volcano thriller Magma has been named the recipient of the Sloan Science on Screen Award, and along with Cristina Costantini’s documentary Sally, will be showcased in Sloan Science on Screen Selection as part of this year’s program for the Sloan Science in Cinema Initiative at the 68th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival).
As part of the initiative, which supports the depiction of science on screen, the Sloan Science on Screen Award – a recognition that celebrates narrative feature films – will be presented to Cyprien Vial for his dramatic thriller Magma. The award also includes a $5,000 cash prize. The SFFILM Festival will host the film’s international premiere with a post-screening Q&A and conversation between the director and Michael Manga, Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Science at the University of California Berkeley. In the film, starring Marina Foïs (Polisse, The Beasts) and Théo Christine (Gran Turismo, How I Became a Super Hero), the struggles between scientists, community members, and local politicians spill over like the titular substance that threatens the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.
Also highlighted as part of the initiative, the Sloan Science on Screen Selection for the 2025 SFFILM Festival is Cristina Costantini’s documentary Sally, about the extraordinary life of Dr. Sally Ride, the first American woman in space in 1983. In Sally, Costantini (Science Fair, Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado) crafts an exhilarating, full-bodied portrait of a trailblazer and hero. The director, joined by producer Alfie Koetter (The Originals), will participate in the post-screening Q&A.
Twisters starring Glen Powell (Hit Man, Top Gun: Maverick), Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People, War of the Worlds) and Anthony Ramos (Hamilton, Blindspotting), will be honored 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.
“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.”
“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.”
The SFFILM Sloan Science in Cinema Initiative also encompasses two comprehensive screenwriting grant programs. The SFFILM Sloan Science in Cinema Fellowship and the SFFILM Sloan Stories of Science Development Fund provide additional opportunities for SFFILM to offer tailored resources to filmmakers in earlier stages of developing screenplays that explore science through the cinematic language of storytelling. The 2024 Sloan Science in Cinema Fellows were Sara Crow and David Rafailedes for Satoshi and Lara Palmqvist for The Garden. In addition to receiving $35,000 each, for a total of $70,000 in cash grants, the 2024 fellows are provided with advisory feedback from scientists matched to their films’ topics, as well as dedicated professional support from SFFILM’s artist development team, which is led by Masashi Niwano, the organization’s Director of Artist Development. Both grants are now open for applications through May 30, 2025 at sffilm.org/makers.