At the 2026 Sundance Film Festival today (1/26), the nonprofit Sundance Institute, in partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, announced the recipients for the Science-In-Film initiative’s Feature Film Prize and artist grants. At the annual reception, the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize was awarded to In The Blink of An Eye from director Andrew Stanton and screenwriter Colby Day, which centers around the connection between science and human existence. In addition, the recipients of three artist grants to support projects currently in development were announced: Sonia Kennebeck and Tetiana Anderson received the Sloan Episodic Fellowship for Speak for the Dead: Excited Delirium; Daeil Kim was granted the Sloan Development Fellowship for Stem; and Alan Fischer and Jonathan Cuchacovich were awarded the Sloan Commissioning Grant for Cyborg Beast. The filmmakers received a total of $84,000 in cash awards. Prior to the reception, the Feature Film Prize winners Stanton and Day participated in a Sloan Foundation–sponsored Beyond Film event, The Big Conversation | From Fire to Flight: Humans, Technology and Time.
“We are immensely grateful for our long-standing partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the continuation of our shared efforts to uplift filmmakers who explore the intersection between art and science,” said Amanda Kelso, Sundance Institute acting CEO. “The Science-In-Film Initiative Feature Film Prize and artist grants enable us to highlight voices that use science as a profound lens with which to explore humanity. We are honored to join together at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and celebrate their innovative work.”
“We are delighted to honor Andrew Stanton’s In The Blink of An Eye, a sweeping saga with three storylines spanning thousands of years that dramatizes the value of science and the abiding human quest for progress and meaning,” said Doron Weber, VP and program director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “We are also immensely pleased to award three screenwriting fellowships to outstanding writers — Jonathan Cuchacovich, Alan Fischer, Sonia Kennebeck, Tetiana Anderson, and Daeil Kim — who portray the conflicts and challenges faced by scientists and engineers working outside the mainstream. This year’s winners are wonderful additions to the nationwide Sloan film program and further proof of the vitality of our landmark two-decade partnership with Sundance Institute.”
In The Blink of An Eye was awarded the 2026 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize and received a $25,000 cash award from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation at the reception. The prize is selected by a jury of film and science professionals and presented to an outstanding feature film focusing on science or technology as a theme, or depicting a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a major character. The 2026 jury for the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize included Sophie Barthes, Dr. Heather Berlin, Dr. Andrea Ghez, Ari Handel, and Nicole Perlman.
The jury selected In The Blink of An Eye “for its deft, moving depiction of three distinctive time periods separated by thousands of years but linked by an underlying human search for meaning and continuity, and for its expansive portrayal of science and scientists striving for progress and a shared, common humanity.”
–In The Blink of An Eye / U.S.A. (Director: Andrew Stanton, Screenwriter: Colby Day, Producer: Jared Ian Goldman) — Three storylines, spanning thousands of years, intersect and reflect on hope, connection, and the circle of life. Cast: Rashida Jones, Kate McKinnon, Daveed Diggs, Jorge Vargas, Tanaya Beatty. .
Kennebeck and Anderson will receive a $17,000 cash award from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for Speak for the Dead: Excited Delirium through the Sundance Institute | Sloan Episodic Fellowship. Kennebeck is an award-winning, Emmy-nominated director, writer, producer, and member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Her films, including Reality Winner (SXSW), Enemies of the State (TIFF), and National Bird (Berlinale), explore power and secrecy. They were distributed by Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, PBS, and others.
Anderson directs, executive-produces, writes, and is a narrative consultant for brands including L’Oréal, United Way Worldwide, and Bank of America. A Telly Award winner and three-time Emmy nominee, she hosts Comcast’s national show Newsmakers. Raised in Mid-Michigan, she’s lived around the world and tells truth-inspired stories.
–Speak for the Dead: Excited Delirium / A brilliant young medical examiner hunts one of the worst serial killers in U.S. history as junk science almost derails the investigation into the murders of 32 women and girls. Inspired by the untold true story and life of the woman who became America’s first Black chief medical examiner.
Kim will receive a $17,000 cash award from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for Stem through the Sundance Institute | Sloan Development Fellowship.
Kim is a South Korean–born filmmaker based in Los Angeles and a recipient of the 2024 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Grant. His work has screened at the Sundance Film Festival, the Cannes American Pavilion, and AFI Fest. He holds an MFA from USC, where he was an Annenberg fellow.
–Stem / A devoted scientist risks everything to win the approval of the world’s leading stem cell pioneer, only to be pulled into the dark secrets behind his “miracle cure” that claims it can end human disability.
Fischer and Cuchacovich will receive a $25,000 cash award from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for Cyborg Beast through the Sundance Institute | Sloan Commissioning Grant.
Fischer is a Chilean American writer and director based in Los Angeles drawn to cross-cultural stories shaped by migration, innovation, and everything in between. His feature films, shorts, and documentaries have been recognized internationally. He holds a bioengineering degree and an MFA from USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Cuchacovich is an Emmy-nominated Chilean writer based in Miami. He wrote the internationally acclaimed miniseries Isabel: The Intimate Story of Isabel Allende and has developed over 25 television dramas as writer, head writer, or script consultant.
–Cyborg Beast / Based on a true story, a brilliant Latino student sacrifices everything to develop a groundbreaking prosthesis for children with disabilities, one that could either change the world or destroy his future.
