Museum of the Moving Image and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Announce Student Prize Finalists (EXCLUSIVE)
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) have announced the finalists and mentors for their prestigious 2023 Sloan Student Prizes.
The Sloan Student Prizes are awarded annually to emerging filmmakers from graduate school programs who exhibit science and/or technology themes and characters in their screenplays. The final two winners receive $20,000 each and mentorship from a film and technology industry professional. The intention is to assist these filmmakers as they transition out of school and into their professional careers.
Sonia Epstein, executive editor of Sloan Science & Film and MoMI Curator of Science and Technology, described the awards as “impactful,” especially regarding spotlighting social issues in the sciences.
“This year’s slate of nominees is a diverse group of writers grappling with the impact of timely issues including food scarcity, artificial intelligence and its impact on relationships, science education, and historical injustice in the sciences,” said Epstein.
Before the jury deliberation, the finalists will work with writing mentors — including former Sloan grantees, such as Colin West (“Linoleum”) and Robert Brooks Cohen (“Law & Order: SVU”) — to revise and refine their scripts in preparation for the final round. The two winners will be announced in the fall/winter of this year, with an awards ceremony at MoMI to be held in January.
All the finalists this year identify as women or non-binary and come from schools such as the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama, the American Film Institute and the University of Michigan.
The Sloan Grand Jury Prize was first founded in 2009, while the Sloan Discovery Prize was founded in 2019. This is the third year MoMI administers the awards.
Below are the 2023 Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize finalists:
ONE ART by Meg Dudley (Feature)
American Film Institute (AFI)
Too Many Fish in the Sea by Sally Seitz (Feature)
Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama
Killing Jar by Vivienne Shaw (Feature)
Columbia University
<Nomination forthcoming>
NYU Tisch School of the Arts
Novas by Molly Lindsey (Pilot)
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
La Forza by Justine Beed (Pilot)
USC School of Cinematic Arts
*
The 2023 Sloan Student Discovery Prize finalists are:
Creating Evolution by Arden Walentowski (Pilot)
Brooklyn College Feirstein School of Cinema
Syncing by Liv Jonsé (Pilot)
Florida State University
Potential by Noor Nounou (Feature)
University of Michigan
The Garden by Lara Palmqvist (Feature)
University of Texas at Austin
*
The 2023 Sloan Prize writing mentors are:
Robert Brooks Cohen – Writer for “Law & Order: SVU” (Former Sloan grantee)
Flora Greeson – Writer of “The High Note”
Jenny Halper – Maven Screen Media Director of Production and Development (Former Sloan grantee)
Casimir Nozkowski – Writer and Director of “The Outside Story”
Colin West – Writer and Director of “Linoleum” (Former Sloan grantee)
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