There are a lot of ways we support independent filmmakers, but one of the most gratifying is—for obvious reasons—handing out cash!

No wonder Film Independent is thrilled to announce a brand new grant program from Film Independent in partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The Sloan Distribution Grant is a $50,000 award each year for the next three years to help fund the distribution of a finished film with a science and technology theme.

Applications are open now for the 2015 Distribution Grant, awarded to the producer of a narrative fiction feature film that prominently explores science, mathematics or technology in the story or has a leading character who is a scientist, engineer or mathematician. To be eligible for this year’s award, the film must be entering its distribution phase at some point in 2015. For more information and to apply, go to the Sloan Distribution Grant page on filmindependent.org. The application deadline is January 5, 2015.

While science in film can mean anything from The Terminator to E.T., Sloan’s focus is authenticity. Three of 2014’s Oscar-winning films—Gravity, Her and Dallas Buyers Club –and at least two early contenders for the 2015 Oscars—The Theory of Everything about Stephen Hawking and The Imitation Game about Alan Turing—exemplify the kind of work long championed by Sloan, according to Doron Weber, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation vice president of programs. The goal, he adds, is to encourage the next generation of filmmakers to portray science and technology themes with originality and insight and to depict scientists, engineers and mathematicians in a way that’s both realistic and entertaining. Sloan’s film program is founded on the premise that science and technology—fundamental to the modern world and our progress as a species—are quintessentially human activities that offer filmmakers untapped opportunities—great stories, powerful ideas and wonderful characters that have been largely unexplored.

Pamela Miller / Website & Grants Manager