Film Independent, an organization in Los Angeles that supports independent film and filmmakers, trains budding filmmakers in its Producer's Lab--an intensive 7-week course that includes one-on-one tutorials with established producers and directors. Past graduates have been invited to screen their Producer's Lab projects at the Los Angeles and Sundance film festivals, while other films from the Producer's Lab have been released in theaters and received Oscar nominations.
What does all this have to do with science? Film Independent recently received a 2-year grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for science communicators to develop films with scientific and technical themes and see them through commercial production and distribution. This week, the organization announced its first competition for a slot in this program, which is known as the Sloan Producer's Lab.
The winner will receive not only admission into the Producer's Lab, but also a $25,000 development grant to help fund the film project. Applicants must submit a screenplay as part of the application and be willing to serve as the film's producer. Scripts must have a scientific or technical theme and feature a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a leading character. The deadline is 28 August.
More details of the new program and the application are available on the Film Independent Web site.
