Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Kogonada Awarded with Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize

26/01/2022

By Stephanie Ornelas

Science is key in bridging the gap between the real and the potential. The Sundance Institute and The Sloan Foundation have been working for 20 years to encourage artists and viewers to imagine their futures and grasp the world not only as it is, but as it could be.

During the 20th annual Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize Announcement and Reception, Doron Weber (Vice President and Program Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation) announced three fellowship prizes to groundbreaking films that premiered at this year's Festival, the largest going to Kogonada's After Yang.

Our program and public understanding of science and technology seeks to bridge the two cultures of science and humanities by supporting an array of original works, says Weber.

The Sloan-Sundance Institute partnership has been a pioneering effort and Sundance [Institute] can truly be proud of its leading role in helping introduce science into film.

Before introducing each winner, Weber couldn't help but shine light on how far the science/film community has come. Looking back to previous Festivals, he highlights moments where there was seemingly a lack of understanding for many when it came to the importance of science in cinema.

When I started coming here in 2003, not everyone was sure what to make of us. At the awards ceremony, where there were only six jury prizes at Sundance Film Festival, the host flew over the science part and was more impressed by the $20,000 cash prize (the highest at Sundance FIlm Festival at the time), recalls Weber. We've come a long way since.

The Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize is presented to a writer and director for the most outstanding depiction of science and technology in a feature film, and Koganada does just that with his this story about a man who must face the disconnection he has with his daughter as he searches for a way to repair her android companion.

Jurors describe the film as a deep poetic meditation on how technology can help us reflect on our humanity, and the ways our brains navigate memory, loss, and connection-even while it poses new challenges to our privacy, security, and identity.

I'm so humbled to receive this award. It's truly a privilege, says Koganada. More than ever we need these spaces that aren't driven by profit or driven by fear or power, but a space that is encouraging reflection. The DNA of cinema is all about science and technology. That medium doesn't exist without those advances.

In total, the grantees received $70,000 in funding for their projects in development. The Sloan Episodic Fellowship was awarded to Kathryn Lo, (Our Dark Lady), the Sloan Development Fellowship was granted to Nuhash Humayun, (Moving Bangladesh) and Sloan Commissioning Grant was given to Shawn Snyder and Jason Begue (The Futurist).

In science there's not only these beautiful, unknown worlds for us to untap and explore, but there's this perfect metaphor for a man's relentless, sisyphean search for meaning, both internally and externally, says Snyder.

We're delighted and grateful for Sundance [Institute], who has supported us in the past, and Sloan for continuing to believe in our voice and vision.

Weber also expressed the milestones both organizations have reached when it comes to lifting up women voices as he highlighted some astounding women-led projects.

We take pride in having supported dozens of films and scripts about the underappreciated role of women scientists, engineers and mathematicians, says Weber.

Director Kathryn Lo, winner of the Sloan Episodic Fellowship, is one of those pioneers. Her film Our Dark Lady centers around chemist Rosalind Franklin.

This award came at such a pivotal time for me because I was getting a lot of feedback from people in the industry about how there was too much science here, says Lo, referring to her film Our Dark Lady. They wanted to make the love story more prominent because Rosalind is a female protagonist and they thought that might make her more relatable, she continues.

I feel near-messianic belief that everyone should know about who Roselin Franklin was and what her contribution was. How we tell this story says something about who we are as a society.

The Sloan Foundation has supported over 68 visionary projects to date, over 20 years. The goal has always been to catalyze the development and presentation of film projects that explore science and technology ideas, and put scientists, mathematicians and engineers on the screen in engaging new ways.
LINK: https://www.sundance.org/blogs/festival-blogs/kogonada-awarded-with-al...
See more stories from sundance

Most recent headlines

16/12/2025

Stranger Things' Playlist Takeover Challenges Fans to Decode Clues and Unlock Exclusive Volume 2' Content

Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...

16/12/2025

Spotify and NAVER Bring Music Integrations and Premium Benefits to Korea

Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...

16/12/2025

Around the World With Spotify Wrapped: 2025 Fan Destinations You Had to See

2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...

16/12/2025

L3Harris Delivers Most Powerful Thrusters for NASA's Lunar Gateway

Three 12-kilowatt Advanced Electric Propulsion System thrusters, supplied by L3Harris Technologies, form the core of Gateway's propulsion system. Pictured i...

16/12/2025

Palantir and L3Harris: Reindustrializing Defense Through AI-Powered Production

The challenge facing America's defense industrial base is not just about speed - its about rebuilding the foundation that makes speed possible. Our nations ...

16/12/2025

NFL Boosts Broadcast, Streaming Viewing Share in November

Share Share by: Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard...

16/12/2025

Spanish Broadcaster Updates Playout With Pebble Solutions

SEVILLE, Spain Canal Sur, the public broadcasting service for Andalusia, Spain, has completed a total technology refresh based on Pebble's resilient, softwa...

16/12/2025

Telescript International Buys Prompter Software Company

NEW YORK Teleprompting hardware provider Telescript International has acquired all software code and intellectual property previously owned by Telescript West. ...

16/12/2025

Ookla: T-Mobile Is Fastest Fixed Wireless Access Provider

As cable operators face increased competition from 5G fixed wireless access providers, a new report from Ookla Research finds that T-Mobile is the FWA speed lea...

16/12/2025

Apple TV App for Android Now Supports Google Cast

Apple has announced a major upgrade to the Apple TV app for device owners outside the Apple ecosystem with news that the Apple TV app for Android now supports G...

16/12/2025

PT Telkom Satelit Indonesia and Space42 Explore Partnership to Extend 5G Direct-to-Device Services

Space42 grows Direct-to-Device partner ecosystem through a Memorandum of Underst...

16/12/2025

VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 Results of Both VEON and Kyivstar

16 Dec 2025 VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...

16/12/2025

VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acquisition of Solar Power Company

16 Dec 2025 VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...

16/12/2025

Emma Appleton, Fares Fares, Frida Gustavsson and Jakob Oftebro Star in Swedish Thriller Series Bytet'

Back to All News Emma Appleton, Fares Fares, Frida Gustavsson and Jakob Oftebro...

16/12/2025

Docu-reality 'My Korean Boyfriend' Gets a Trailer and Premiere Date: January 1st. Is Real Life Really like a K-drama?

Back to All News Docu-reality My Korean Boyfriend Gets a Trailer and Premiere D...

16/12/2025

Czech TV Elevates Video Streaming with Harmonic

Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor Improves Streaming Video Quality and Boosts Viewer Engagement SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 16, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...

16/12/2025

RT Sport Manager of the Year Nominees 2025 Revealed

RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December. On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...

16/12/2025

Music legend Brian Kennedy revealed as the twelfth and final contestant for Dancing with the Stars 2026

Singer -songwriter Brian Kennedy has been announced as the final celebrity dance...

15/12/2025

Harlem Globetrotters Celebrate 100th Anniversary With New Brand Campaign From The Famous Group

Harlem Globetrotters Celebrate 100th Anniversary With New Brand Campaign From Th...

15/12/2025

2026 Sundance Film Festival Reveals 54 Titles Selected for Short Film Program Presented by Ketel One Vodka

Top L-R: La Tierra Del Valor (The Home of the Brave), Mangittatuarjuk (The Gnawe...

15/12/2025

L3Harris to Provide Assured Communications for US Air Force's Survivable Airborne Operations Center Program

L3Harris will leverage 15 years of experience supporting the E-4B Nightwatch and...

15/12/2025

Arkansas TV Ends PBS Affiliation Amid Funding Cuts

CONWAY, Ark. In a notable example of how the loss of federal funding is forcing public stations to make massive cuts and operational changes, the statewide pub...

15/12/2025

PMVG Acquires WBPA-LD for WQED Pittsburgh

BOULDER, Colo. Public Media Venture Group (PMVG), Venture Technologies Group (VTG), and WQED have completed a multipart agreement that they say will significant...

15/12/2025

SES and WPDI Win Changing Lives Award, Connecting Youth to Digital Education in South Sudan and Uganda

Cape Town, November 13, 2025 - SES and International artist and humanitarian, Fo...

15/12/2025

SES, Abra Group Launch Multi-Orbit Inflight Connectivity

Luxembourg, December 15, 2025 - SES, a leading space solutions company, and Abra Group launched fast and reliable multi-orbit inflight connectivity service on t...

15/12/2025

How Rivian s Design Puts Drivers First-And Why That Matters

How Rivian s Design Puts Drivers First-And Why That Matters Published on Dec 15, 2025 Categories: Business Solutions LinkedIn Corporate Communications Sha...

15/12/2025

Space42 and Cobham Satcom Redefine L-band Performance with New Portfolio of Thuraya-4 Terminals

Space42 and Cobham Satcom completed the full range of advanced terminals for the...

15/12/2025

VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan Delivers First Starlink Direct to Cell Call in Central Asia

15 Dec 2025 VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan Delivers First Starlink Direct to Cel...

15/12/2025

U&GOLD Reveals Top 10 Topical Christmas Cracker Jokes for 2025!

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor finds himself the topic of year's cracker jokes Oasis, David Harbour, Celebrity Traitors and Angela Rayner all feature in this y...

15/12/2025

Comscore Expands Cross-Platform Campaign Measurement to Include Audio and Social

Comscore Expands Cross-Platform Campaign Measurement to Include Audio and Social New capabilities strengthen cross-platform campaign reporting suite; CCR rebran...

15/12/2025

NVIDIA Acquires Open-Source Workload Management Provider SchedMD

NVIDIA today announced it has acquired SchedMD - the leading developer of Slurm, an open-source workload management system for high-performance computing (HPC) ...

15/12/2025

RT.ie Achieves Major Milestone: One Billion Page Views in 2025

RT .ie has reached one billion page views this year and is on track to finish 2025 2% ahead of last year. Average time spent on the site is up 3% on 2024, with ...

15/12/2025

How to Fine-Tune an LLM on NVIDIA GPUs With Unsloth

Modern workflows showcase the endless possibilities of generative and agentic AI on PCs. Of many, some examples include tuning a chatbot to handle product-supp...

13/12/2025

YouTube TV to Launch Genre Packages

In a move that will help it offer more flexible and less costly programming options, YouTube TV has announced that it will be launching YouTube TV Plans with mo...

13/12/2025

Magna Systems Finishes UHD, IP-based OB Truck For Singapore Network

SINGAPORE Magna Systems has designed, built and completed what is believed to be the first full UHD and IP-based OB truck in Southeast Asia for a Singapore medi...

12/12/2025

SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Everything You Need to Know for Next Week's Big Show in NYC

SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Everything You Need to Know for Next Week's Big Sho...

12/12/2025

Hailey Gates and Alia Shawkat Welcome You to the Village of Atropia

Hailey Gates at the Atropia premiere (photo by George Pimentel / Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)...

12/12/2025

Spotify and ATP Tour Launch First Episode of New Video Series

Last month, Spotify announced a new collaboration with the ATP Tour, the global governing body of men's professional tennis, aimed at bringing the next gene...

12/12/2025

Arkansas TV Drops PBS Affiliation Amid Funding Cuts

CONWAY, Ark. In a notable example of how the elimination of Federal federal funding is forcing public stations to make massive cuts and changes in the way they...

12/12/2025

Wisycom and DPA Microphones Appoint Rene Moerch as Group...

Wisycom and DPA Microphones announce the appointment of Ren Moerch as Group Product Director, Wireless, a strategic leadership role that will guide the combine...

12/12/2025

SMPTE Releases Updated Engineering Report on Artificial I...

SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, in conjuncture with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Entertainment Technolog...

12/12/2025

Keepit and Ingram Micro form strategic relationship in Po...

Keepit, the vendor-independent, cloud-native data protection provider, today announced a strategic go-to-market relationship in Poland with Ingram Micro, a lead...

12/12/2025

Atomos Enhances FUJIFILM GFX ETERNA 55 with RAW Capabilit...

Atomos announced the immediate availability of a new firmware update for its Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX monitor-recorders, unlocking Open Gate 48P RAW recording w...

12/12/2025

Professional Wireless Systems Provides Comprehensive RF S...

Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) once again played a critical role in delivering flawless wireless coordination and support at the 2025 Latin Grammy Awards a...

12/12/2025

AIMS Announces Inaugural IPMX Product Testing and Certifi...

The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), together with the Video Services Forum (VSF), the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and the European Broadc...

12/12/2025

DHD Gears for Hamburg Open 2026 with Latest Audio Product...

DHD audio will demonstrate the latest additions to its range of digital audio production solutions on Booth 321 in Hall B6 at Hamburg Open 2026. The show will b...

12/12/2025

Chaos Brings macOS Support and AI Tools to V-Ray for Blen...

Chaos today announces the release of V-Ray for Blender, update 2, bringing its award-winning rendering technology to even more Blender users by adding support f...

12/12/2025

UltraLEDs Launches Precision LED Tape for Professional Fi...

Lighting specialist UltraLEDs has launched Precision LED Tape, a high-CRI lighting solution designed specifically for professional film, TV, and studio use. P...