SFFILM’s Sloan Science Prize Goes to ‘Twisters’ and ‘Magma’

The San Francisco International Film Festival‘s Sloan Science in Cinema Initiative will present a $20,000 prize to Lee Isaac Chung‘s film “Twisters,” along with a $5,000 award to Cyprien Vial’s movie “Magma.”

Chung will attend SFFILM Festival April 20 to receive the top Sloan Science in Cinema Prize and to participate in a panel about film and extreme weather. The panel will include Kevin Kelleher, director of Global Systems Laboratory and a consultant for the original 1996 film “Twister” as well as “Twisters,” Tapio Schneider, an environmental science and engineering professor at Caltech Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, Al Nelson, supervising sound editor and sound designer for “Twisters” and Florian Witzel, Industrial Light and Magic visual effects supervisor.

Vial is set to receive the Sloan Science on Screen Award on April 21 for “Magma,” which has its international premiere at the festival. Vial will discuss the film with Michael Manga, a professor at the University California, Berkeley’s department of earth and planetary science.

“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,’” Doron Weber, vice president and program director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which co-presents the awards, said in a statement. “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.”

The program also includes the documentary “Sally” by Cristina Costantini as the Sloan Science on Screen Selection. Costantini and producer Alfie Koetter will be present for a Q&A on April 20.

“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,” SFFILM director of programming Jessie Fairbanks, said in a statement. “From high-stakes challenges to personal triumphs, these films explore complex scientific themes while offering fresh, emotional insights into the human condition.”