The triennial Sloan Film Summit from nonprofit arts organization Film Independent is back for 2025. IndieWire can announce that the science and technology-focused film program will include screenings of indie hits “Magma” and “Love Me” among its highlights.
Film Independent hosts the festival in partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Film Program under its broader effort in the Public Understanding of Science and Technology; this is the eighth Sloan Film Summit after its inaugural year in 1999. This year’s summit will take place May 9 through May 11 at the Garland Hotel in Los Angeles, and feature a keynote address from astronomer Amy Mainzer.
“We’re delighted to partner with Film Independent to host this unique summit held only once every three years to celebrate the Sloan Foundation’s pioneering and prolific Film Program,” Doron Weber, Vice President and Program Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, said. “With a network of a dozen film schools, six screenplay development partners and four film festivals, Sloan has created a robust developmental pipeline for supporting original work that engages with science and technology themes and characters. The program has resulted in over 850 science-themed film projects from some of the most innovative and exciting filmmakers in the U.S. and internationally, including over 30 completed feature films. Showing that science can entertain as well as enlighten, the Foundation has not only supported outstanding independent films, but also blockbusters such as ‘Twisters,’ ‘Oppenheimer,’ ‘Don’t Look Up,’ and ‘Hidden Figures.’ We look forward to showcasing more great films and gifted filmmakers at this year’s summit.”
The Sloan Film Summit will kick off on Friday, May 9 at 4:30 p.m. with an opening reception followed by the Spotlight Screening of Cyprien Vial’s volcano drama “Magma.” The screening will be followed by a Q&A with seismology professor John Vidale on the impacts and hazards of earthquakes, Earth structure, and volcanos.
The Summit will continue on Saturday, May 10 with a full day of keynote speeches, panels, script readings, and networking sessions with industry professionals for Sloan-supported filmmakers and organizations. UCLA planetary science professor and principal investigator of NASA’s NEO Surveyor mission Amy Mainzer will deliver the keynote speech; Mainzer previously was the science advisor for Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up.”
Sunday, May 11 will have a showcase of Sloan-winning short films, panels, and a screening of the Closing Night film, “Love Me” starring Kristen Stewart and Steven Yuen.
Panels throughout the festival will include “Reality Augmented: AI, Machine Learning and the Future of Cinematic Expression,” “The Consultants’ Cut: Scientific Accuracy in Storytelling,” and “Beyond Screens: How Podcasts and Social Media are Democratizing Science Storytelling.”
“The importance of science and technology and the power of storytelling to highlight how art and science intersect is more relevant now than ever,” Brenda Robinson, Film Independent’s Acting President, said. “We are thrilled to continue our long-standing partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, whose remarkable work supporting the media arts and sciences is something that we regard as both inspiring and essential to our understanding of the world around us. We look forward to continuing our collaboration for many years to come.”
In 2022 during the last Sloan Film Summit, Kogonada’s “After Yang” screened. The feature was awarded the Sloan prize $50,000 distribution grant at Sundance 2022. Past supported filmmakers include Damien Chazelle and Aneesh Chaganty.
