Breakthroughs: The Sloan Science on Screen Programme

Breakthroughs: The Sloan Science on Screen Programme

Returning for a second year, the Sloan Science on Screen Programme puts science in the spotlight at TIFF and equips screen creators with industry connections and creative support to strengthen and highlight their feature-length projects about science and technology.

Funding for this programme is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Public Understanding of Science and Technology program, which supports books, radio, film, television, theatre, and new media to reach a wide, non-specialized audience and to bridge the two cultures of science and the humanities.

Supported by
  

  • campaignProject Pitch
  • groupsWriter Fellowship
  • videocamFilm Showcase

Sloan Science and Technology Writer Fellowship

Applications are now open!

The Sloan Science and Technology Writer Fellowship offers a project development grant and access to creative support for one emerging to mid-level feature film or episodic screenwriter whose project has science and technology themes and/or characters. The Fellowship will equip the participant with connections, insights, and resources to help develop the script and support the eventual production and theatrical release of the project.

Please note: The application will contain questions on the writer's engagement with scientific experts and research. As a component of the Sloan Writer Fellowship is participation in TIFF Writers' Studio, previous Writers' Studio participants are not eligible to apply.

What’s included

  • A $35,000 CAD grant towards further developing a science- and/or technology-focused screenplay
  • Inclusion in TIFF Writers’ Studio, a four-day intensive lab — focused on screenwriting and the creative process — taking place in person April 14–17, 2025
  • Mentorship and support from a story consultant and a scientific script consultant
  • Audience access to all Sloan programs at TIFF 2025, including the Sloan Showcase and Project Pitch

Eligibility

The Sloan Science & Technology Writer Fellowship is designed for emerging to mid-level screenwriters and writer-directors who wish to extend their creative skills.

  1. Applications are open to international applicants as well as Canadians.
  2. Applicants must be credited as a writer on a minimum of either one (1) feature film or one (1) television series.
  3. Applicants must be the sole writer on the project.
  4. Applicants must submit a completed first draft of a feature-length or episodic project. A final draft must be submitted by March 27, 2025, so that it may be read by mentors and peers and workshopped during the programme.
  5. Applicants must commit to attending the full programme and completing the required readings, viewings, assignments, and meeting with one story consultant and one science consultant for their script in order to be considered.

Key Dates

Applications open
December 2024
Applications close
January 30, 2025
Participant notified of selection
March 20, 2025
Script draft due
March 27, 2025
Participant announced
March 2025
TIFF Writers' Studio
April 14-17, 2025

Application materials

Applicants are required to submit the following supporting documents:

  1. A copy of the applicant’s resume in PDF format (maximum one page)
  2. The applicant’s filmography (project title, year, role(s), festivals played, and a maximum of five awards or nominations received per project) in PDF format
  3. One high-resolution headshot in colour (format: .jpg; orientation: portrait; minimum resolution: 300 dpi)
  4. A short version of a professional biography (maximum 50 words)
  5. A video pitch of less than two minutes in duration. The applicant should comment on their project and writing approach, as well as why they want to participate in the Sloan Writer Fellowship.
  6. A one-minute clip from a previous project on which the applicant is credited as writer or co-writer
  7. The following written materials from the submitted project:
    • Logline (50 words)
    • Synopsis (250 words)
    • One-page outline
    • A writing sample (five pages)
    • First draft of a completed script

Please note: TIFF’s Industry team takes applicants’ confidentiality seriously and will ensure that submitted materials (excluding headshots and bios) are not shared with any third parties without the owner’s explicit consent. The material will be downloaded by the TIFF Industry team and the selection committee.

Questions?
Contact us by email at industry@tiff.net.

Apply now

Sloan Science on Film Showcase

The Sloan Science on Film Showcase will spotlight two science-forward feature films per year: one Official Selection title at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, and one year-round programming title at TIFF Lightbox. One screening of each film will include a discussion between a member of the film team and a scientific expert.

Stay tuned for more information on this initiative in upcoming TIFF announcements regarding both Festival and year-round programming.

Sloan Science and Technology Project Pitch

The Sloan Science and Technology Project Pitch provides four Canadian and international creators the opportunity to pitch their science and technology–related project at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.

Participants will deliver a maximum 15-minute presentation in front of a live audience of industry experts and decision makers. In addition to the non-competitive pitch event, each creator will be awarded $15,000 CAD to help further their project.

What’s included

  • $15,000 CAD award to help further develop the selected projects
  • Mentorship from an expert pitch coach
  • Participation in a pitch event at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival
  • Access to the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival
  • Access to TIFF’s Industry Conference, Business Centre, and Delegate Resources
  • A complimentary one-year TIFF Membership, which includes discounts on film tickets at TIFF Lightbox
  • Membership to TIFF Talent alumni network
A man on stage talking about their film

2024 Sloan Science and Technology Project Pitch Participants

Project Title: La Forza

Justine Beed

Justine Beed is a filmmaker born in Washington, DC, and raised in Moscow, Windhoek, Ellicott City, Mexico City, Asunción, Tokyo, and Cairo. After graduating from Stanford University with a degree in Anthropology and Creative Writing, she moved to LA — the strangest and most familiar place she’s ever lived. She’s worked as a writer but made a living as an extra, script reader for the Sundance Institute, personal assistant to filmmakers Bola Ogun and Oliver Bokelberg, writer for Spotify’s Parcast, and after-school 2nd-grade teacher. Her global upbringing and love of irony inform her feminist, genre-bending, coming-of-age stories. She was recently awarded the Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize for her pilot, La Forza by the Museum of the Moving Image and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. In May 2024, she graduated with an MFA in Film and TV Production from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.

Project Title: Lucid

Mia Mullarkey

Mia Mullarkey worked as a behavioural psychologist in Ireland and Sri Lanka, and as a community worker in Peru and India, before turning to filmmaking. Beginning in documentaries, Mullarkey directed successful shorts, including Mother & Baby and Throwline, receiving awards from Oscar-qualifying festivals such as Aesthetica and Galway Film Fleadh. She directed a number of TV documentary programmes, including the TG4 series Cumasc, nominated for a Royal Television Society Award 2022. Her debut short drama, The Passion, was nominated for an IFTA 2022, and her short Safe as Houses won gold for Best Short at the YDAs, Cannes Lions 2023. She is recipient of the Discovery Award from Dublin Film Critics’ Circle and was selected as one of Screen International’s 2023 Rising Stars. She directed an RTÉ Storyland pilot drama called Wrapped, which won Gold at YDA, Cannes Lions 2024, and is in pre-production on the drama series Hidden Assets.

Project Title: Push the Button

Anton Källrot

Anton Källrot was born 1980 and graduated from the Academy of Film in Gothenburg in 2010 Bachelor and Master. He’s directed theatre and film, as well as several award-winning commercials. In 2011, he co-founded the production company ÖGAT Film with Ylva Olaison and Jonathan Silén. He wrote and directed the feature The Modern Project, which had its world premiere at the Moscow Film Festival and was nominated for a Guldbagge Award for Best Leading Male Actor in 2017 in Sweden. It won the Nöjesguiden Film Award in 2017. In 2021,he directed August Strindberg’s The Dance of Death in a unique interactive performance. The production was hailed as the Theatre event of the year by Göteborgs-Posten in 2021.

Project Title: Liberation

Norman Yi Li

Norman Yi Li is a Chinese Canadian Film & TV writer based in Vancouver, BC. He has earned a B.Sc. in Cognitive Systems -- Computational Intelligence and Design from the University of British Columbia. His work delves into the complexities of human psychology, the evolution of cultural identity, and the societal impacts of emerging technology. Li is a semi-finalist at the Austin Film Festival - Script Competition and his short films have screened at the Whistler Film Festival and the Vancouver Asian Film Festival. Li is an alumnus of the Pacific Screenwriting Program, where he penned an episode for an original series by Will Pascoe, subsequently optioned by Skydance Media. In 2022, Li worked as a writers’ assistant on Netflix’s hit series The Night Agent. And recently, he has participated in the Warner Bros. Discovery/Break The Room Mid-Level Writers’ Room. Li is represented by the Independent Artist Group.

Questions?

Contact us at industry@tiff.net