2025 SFFILM Celebrates Scientific Excellence in Lee Isaac Chung’s ‘Twisters’ with $20,000 Sloan Science in Cinema Prize

Today, SFFILM announced the program slate of the Sloan Science in Cinema Initiative at the 68th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival), which runs April 17–27, which will include an onstage conversation with director Lee Isaac Chung (Twisters).

Presented in partnership between the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and SFFILM, this year’s program includes three public events. Screening as part of the Festival lineup are Cyprien Vial’s volcano thriller Magma, recipient of the Sloan Science on Screen Award, and Cristina Costantini’s documentary Sally, which is the Sloan Science on Screen Selection. A Festival Talk, free to the public, will feature director Lee Isaac Chung accepting the Sloan Science in Cinema Prize for his latest film, Twisters, followed by a special onstage conversation on the integration of science and cinematic tools to depict extreme weather. Lee Isaac Chung (Minari, The Mandalorian) will be joined onstage by Director of the Global Systems Laboratory (GSL), Kevin Kelleher, who spent 26 years at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and served as technical consultant on both Twister (1996) and Twisters (2024); Tapio Schneider, Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering at Caltech Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences; Twisters’ supervising sound editor and sound designer Al Nelson (Jurassic World, Top Gun: Maverick) and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) visual effects supervisor Florian Witzel (Avengers, The Mandalorian). 

“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.”

As part of the initiative, which supports the compelling 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. 

“We are so inspired by and proud of our ongoing collaboration with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, providing critical support to film artists working at the intersection of science and storytelling,” said SFFILM Executive Director Anne Lai. “Science and film share a core practice of deepening human understanding across complexities and differences, and this comprehensive initiative allows us to meaningfully support filmmakers’ efforts to bring their visions to life and connect their stories to a global audience. Never was there a more urgent time to invest in and amplify artists and scientists to keep our cultures flourishing.”

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.

68TH SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL: SLOAN SCIENCE ON SCREEN PROGRAMS

SLOAN SCIENCE IN CINEMA PRIZE

Festival Talk: SFFILM Sloan Science in Cinema Prize: Talking About Twisters

Lee Isaac Chung (USA 2024, 60)

Sunday, April 20 at 3:30 PM at Walt Disney Family Museum

The Sloan Science in Cinema Prize celebrates the compelling depiction of scientific themes or characters in a narrative feature film. The program celebrates and highlights cinema that brings together science and the art of storytelling, showing how these two seemingly disparate areas can combine to enhance the power of one another. The selections are meant to immerse a broad public audience in the challenges and rewards of scientific discovery, as well as to engage members of the scientific community. The 2025 prize of $20,000 is awarded to Lee Isaac Chung’s Twisters. 

SLOAN SCIENCE ON SCREEN AWARD

Magma

Director: Cyprien Vial, Producer: Isabelle Madelaine (France 2024, 103) — International Premiere

Monday, April 21 at 8:30 PM at Marina Theatre 

Narratives: International

The struggles between scientists, community members, and local politicians spill over like the titular substance that threatens the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe in Cyprien Vial’s dramatic thriller. When a team of scientists led by Katia (Marina Foïs) records the biggest magmatic surge in 50 years on the small island, a struggle ensues among politicians who want to evacuate, locals who can’t afford to stop working or shut down their businesses, and the researchers themselves who are forced to admit the inexactitude of volcanology. Particularly torn is Katia’s assistant Aimé (Théo Christine) who grew up on the island and is well aware of the frustrations stemming from the fact that the mostly Black populace is dictated to by white European officials. Vial keeps a keen eye on all three personal elements of the story while never losing sight of the island’s grand volcano, known as La Soufrière, whose majestic power will always have the last word.

Preceding the International Premiere screening of Magma, director Cyprien Vial will be presented with the Sloan Science on Screen Award. The director will be joined by Michael Manga, Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Science at the University of California Berkeley for a special onstage conversation. 

SLOAN SCIENCE ON SCREEN SELECTION

Sally

Director: Cristina Costantini, Producers: Cristina Costantini, Lauren Cioffi, Dan Cogan, Jon Bardin (USA 2025, 103)

Sunday, April 20 at 5:15 PM at Premier Theater at One Letterman

Documentaries: USA

For astronaut Sally Ride, stepping into the space shuttle Challenger for her first flight in 1983 was, to paraphrase Neil Armstrong, one small step for women, one giant leap for womankind. Becoming the first American woman in space fulfilled not just Ride’s personal ambition but also symbolized limitless possibilities for girls and women. This intimate, exhilarating documentary offers an evocative portrait of this extraordinary trailblazer. Her professional life was a triumph, even if she was beset by silly questions from a condescending media and resentment from male peers who did not believe women “earned” their shot at space flight. Her personal life was more complicated as she remained closeted even in the midst of a 27-year-long relationship with partner Tam O’Shaughnessy. With the voice of Ride (who died in 2012), archival footage, reenactments, and reminiscences from O’Shaughnessy and Ride’s family and NASA associates, this involving film honors the brilliance and humanity of an American hero.