University of California, Los Angeles
For screenwriting and production of science and technology films by top film students
This three-year grant provides continuing support for efforts by the University of California, Los Angeles School of Theater, Film, and Television to encourage top film students to write and produce accurate, engaging films about science and technology. The UCLA program includes a yearly $10,000 screenwriting award given to the best student script that explores scientific themes or characters; a yearly $30,000 directing award given toward the production of a dramatic or comedic film about science or technology; and a yearly day-long colloquium that brings working scientists and researchers into the classroom to expose students to exciting new developments in science and introduce them to the narrative possibilities that science and technology offer the aspiring filmmaker. Additional grant funds pair student filmmakers with scientific mentors who advise students on the scientific content of their work and ensure that scripts depict science and the scientific endeavor accurately.