A professor of public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School, Robert Putnam became famous in 2000 when he published the bestseller Bowling Alone, a prescient analysis of the fraying of civic life in America. In that work, Putnam vividly documented the unraveling of the clubs, groups, leagues, and other community organizations that had previously bound Americans together, leading to social isolation, malaise, and a collapse of civic engagement and trust in American institutions. Since then, he has published important work on the religious roots of the culture wars and the decrease of social interactions among different socioeconomic classes.  Funds from this grant support the production of Unraveling America: A Social Science Detective Story with Robert Putnam, a documentary film about Putnam and his work, to be directed jointly by filmmakers Rebecca Davis and Pete Davis, a former student of Putnam’s.

Funds from this grant continue a partnership with the Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) to promote the development and release of science-themed films and support filmmakers who explore scientific or technological themes in their work. Each year, the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund issues an open call for new and established filmmakers to submit science-themed film treatments, finished screenplays, or works-in-progress. After a rigorous independent review process, two to six projects are selected each year for support. Winning projects receive between $10,000 and $75,000 to help usher the project toward completion. In addition, winners receive year-round support from TFI, including mentorship, workshops, readings, inclusion in the annual TFI Network market, a professionally produced ТsizzleУ reel to bolster promotion and engagement with funded projects, and arranged industry meetings. TFI also hosts a highly publicized and well-attended screening and panel discussion of a science-themed film at the Tribeca Film Festival each year along with an associated reception. Last, TFI operates an Alumni Discretionary Fund that provides microgrants of up to $5,000 to previously supported projects, providing a critical intervention that helps ensure supported projects are continuing to move toward production and release. This grant supports these and related activities for a period of two years.

This grant continues a Sloan partnership with the Sundance Film Institute for a series of initiatives that promote the development, production, and distribution of science-themed films. Annual initiatives include the Sloan Commissioning Fellowship, which is awarded to a screenwriter or producer to support the development of an early-stage science-themed project. The award includes a $25,000 cash grant, a stipend for a science advisor and research, mentorship, and year-round staff support from Sundance. The Sloan Development Fellowship in the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program supports the participation of a filmmaker and his or her science-themed script in the Screenwriters Lab, Screenwriters Intensive, or Creative Producing Summit. Winners participate in the Feature Film Fellows track at the Sundance Film Festival and are eligible for additional Feature Film Program labs. The fellowship also includes a $15,000 cash grant to support the development of the project, including funds for scientific mentoring and advice. The Sloan Episodic Story Fellowship supports a writer with an early-stage, science-themed episodic project developed for television, streaming, or other platforms. It includes a $10,000 cash grant to support the development of the project, a stipend for a science advisor, and mentorship and other support from Sundance staff. The Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize is awarded by a jury of esteemed filmmakers and scientists to the writer and director of an outstanding feature film focusing on science or technology as a theme, or depicting a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a major character. The award is presented at a reception at the annual Sundance Film Festival and comes with a $20,000 cash prize. Last, the Science-in-Film Forum is a moderated panel discussion, open to all Sundance participants, featuring independent filmmakers and leading scientists and technologists who discuss compelling topics relevant to the depiction of science and technology in film and television. Grant funds support these initiatives and additional outreach, publicity, and administrative costs for a period of two years.

This grant supports a series of activities by SFFILM, the organization that hosts the annual San Francisco Film Festival, to nurture, develop, and champion films that explore scientific or technological themes and characters. Supported activities include the awarding of two $35,000 Sloan Science in Cinema Fellowships each year to promising feature film or episodic screenwriters who are exploring scientific or technological themes in their work. SFFILM also gives an annual award, the Sloan Science in Cinema Prize, to the best science-themed feature film submitted to the San Francisco Film Festival and promotes the winning film at the festival with a ceremony, screening, post-screening panel, and reception. SFFILM also compiles a yearly Sloan Stories of Science Sourcebook, which includes the best science stories and the most up-to-date scientific discoveries of the year and offers awards to two filmmakers who can develop original scripts based on these stories or ideas. Lastly, SFFILM partners with the Black List to identify promising science-themed scripts and bring them to the attention of developers, producers, and other film industry executives. Grant funds support these activities and associated operational costs for the next two years.

This grant provides two years of continued support for the Coolidge Corner Theatre Science on Screen series, a grant program that helps independent theaters across the country pair current, classic, cult, and documentary film screenings with thoughtful introductions by notable figures from the fields of science, technology, and medicine. Grant funds will allow Coolidge to make 56 grants to independent theaters over the next two years, which will bring to over 100 the number of independent cinema houses across the country that participate in the program. Each theater in the Science on Screen series receives a grant of between $4,000 and $8,500 to facilitate three screenings a year with expert STEM speakers, at least one of which is a film developed or awarded a prize through the Sloan FoundationХs Film program. Additional grant funds support a National Week of Science on Screen in which all participating theaters hold coordinated screenings, an expanded two-year grant program for cinemas participating for the first time, and an alumni program that provides support at a reduced level for the programХs most committed cinemas. Other funds support marketing, promotion, and social media outreach designed to expand participation to theaters in all 50 U.S. states, and an ongoing presence at Arthouse Convergence, the largest annual gathering of independent cinema operators in the country.

This grant continues support to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts for a series of initiatives that encourages student filmmakers and game designers to develop screenplays, short films, and games that feature science or technology. Grant funds support an annual colloquium that brings students together with working scientists, a yearly $30,000 production award that helps a promising science-themed film project move toward completion, three $10,000 screenplay awards given to help develop science themed scripts, and an annual Game Center award to develop an interactive game that creatively integrates gameplay with science and technology. Additional funds provide stipends for working scientists to judge student submissions on their scientific content and to serve as dedicated science advisors and mentors on student projects. Grant funds support these and related administrative and outreach activities for three years.

Funds from this grant provide support to a program at Columbia University’s School of the Arts to incentivize and encourage graduate students to write screenplays and produce short films about science and technology. Supported activities include three annual $10,000 awards given to the best student screenplay with a scientific or technological theme; two annual $21,000 production awards to help produce a science-themed film project; an annual information session and scientific panel that introduces students to cutting edge scientific research, and an intensive competitive mentorship program in which students meet regularly under the supervision of a scientific advisor as they jointly develop science-themed scripts or film projects. Grant funds support these and related administrative costs for three years.