Sundance Institute and Sandbox Fund Announce Grants for 15 Science-Driven Documentary Projects

30 October 2024 | Source
The Sundance Institute | Sandbox Fund has selected 15 documentary projects to receive funding in 2024, expanding annual grants to $500,000 to foster nonfiction storytelling on science and culture. These projects, spanning development to post-production stages, address themes from climate adaptation and AI impacts to scientific ethics. Filmmakers from 12 countries will explore pressing topics through compelling narratives, with 80% of projects helmed by traditionally marginalized artists.
Sundance Film Festival
United States (USA)

The Sundance Institute, in partnership with Sandbox Films, has announced its 2024 cohort of 15 documentary projects receiving financial support from the Sundance Institute | Sandbox Fund. The fund, which since 2017 has encouraged nonfiction projects exploring scientific and cultural intersections, has raised its annual budget to $500,000, enabling a broader and more robust level of support for filmmakers at various production stages. This year’s grantees represent 12 countries and a range of scientific themes, from artificial intelligence’s environmental costs to explorations of African scientific aspirations.

With a 500% rise in submissions since the fund’s inception, the program has grown significantly, now offering sizable support to creators examining science through creative storytelling. Key themes among this year’s projects include climate resilience in the animal kingdom, artificial intelligence’s ecological impact, ethical issues in science, and the intricacies of human mortality. “Going into the seventh year of this beautiful collaboration with Sandbox Films, it is clear to us that there is no shortage of groundbreaking nonfiction work being developed and made around scientific topics on a global scale,” said Paola Mottura, Director of Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Fund. She highlighted the increasing demand for this type of production and the collaboration with Sandbox Films in expanding resources for these projects.

Jessica Harrop, Executive Director of Sandbox Films, noted the fund’s emphasis on diversity, praising the caliber and creativity of this year’s selections. “One of our key objectives at Sandbox is to promote greater diversity within science documentaries,” said Harrop, expressing enthusiasm for supporting the innovative approaches represented by these global projects.

The supported projects originate from 12 countries: Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Germany, North Macedonia, Mexico, Peru, Spain, the U.K., and the U.S.A. Eighty percent of these documentaries are led by filmmakers from traditionally marginalized communities, including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, women, gender-nonconforming individuals, and people with disabilities, aligning with the fund’s mission to foster inclusivity in science-focused media.

Previous Projects of Note The Sundance Institute | Sandbox Fund has previously supported significant documentaries such as Nocturnes, released by Grasshopper Films in October 2024 and winner of the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Craft at the Sundance Film Festival. Other notable past films include Wilfred Buck, which premiered at CPH

2024; Fire of Love, Oscar-nominated and an award-winner at Sundance 2022; All Light, Everywhere, awarded at Sundance 2021; and Fathom, an Apple-acquired project that premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2021. These successful projects underscore the fund’s impact on the visibility and reception of science-based documentaries.

2024 Sundance Institute | Sandbox Fund Project List

Development Stage:

  • "Artificial Clouds" (Chile) / Dir. Josefina Buschmann Mardones / Prod. Daniela Camino Valdivia
    Exploring AI’s ecological footprint, this documentary journeys from Chile’s mineral extraction zones to sites of technological waste.
  • "Ever and the Sharks" (Peru, Spain) / Dir. Lucía Flórez / Prod. Chémi Pérez, Joel Cazorla, Sofia Tapia
    A young boy and a marine scientist team up in Peru’s waters to tag whale sharks, reflecting the intersections of community, science, and conservation.
  • "In Praise of Invasive Species" (Canada) / Dir. Mila Aung-Thwin / Prod. Bob Moore
    Examining invasive species' roles in nature, this project delves into the ethical and ecological tensions surrounding species management.
  • "My Friend the Bear" (U.S.A.) / Dir. Drew Xanthopoulos / Prod. Bennett Elliott, Drew Xanthopoulos
    A researcher’s bond with a bear reframes notions of human-nature relationships through an intimate lens.
  • "Sing at My Wake" (U.S.A.) / Dir. Jonathan Pickett / Prod. Jonathan Pickett, Josh Polon, Sarah Stewart
    Explores green deathcare innovations, capturing a family’s emotional adaptation to novel end-of-life practices.
  • "Spaceman in Kongo" (DR Congo, U.K., Germany, U.S.A.) / Dir. Maisha Maene / Prod. Maisha Maene, Leo Nelki, Josune Hahnheiser, Dale Dobson
    Two Congolese engineers seek to launch their nation’s first space program, inspired by African scientific heritage.
  • "The Vortex of Extinction" (North Macedonia, U.S.A.) / Dir. Ljubomir Stefanov / Prod. Maya E. Rudolph
    A scientist’s study of an endangered turtle species spirals into broader existential and ethical questions about extinction.
  • "Valley of the Night" (working title) (U.S.A.) / Dir. Lynne Siefert / Prod. Lynne Siefert
    Set in a futuristic, climate-ravaged Phoenix, this documentary explores nighttime survival strategies in extreme heat.

Production Stage:

  • "Badlands" (U.S.A.) / Dir. Hannah Jayanti, Alexander Porter / Prod. Hannah Jayanti, Alexander Porter, Keith Wilson
    Revealing the life and historical complexities of South Dakota’s Badlands, this film sheds light on conservation challenges.
  • "Captions Will be Needed" (U.S.A., Mexico) / Dir. Natalia Almada / Prod. Natalia Almada, Josh Penn, Esther Robinson
    Through a rare cancer diagnosis, Almada reflects on the limits of technology, blending realism and speculative documentary.
  • "Only on Earth" (Denmark, Spain) / Dir. Robin Petré / Prod. Signe Skov Thomsen, Malene Flindt Pedersen
    In wildfire-prone Galicia, wild horses and humans struggle together against intensifying fires in Europe’s hot summers.
  • "Providencia" (Colombia) / Dir. Juliana Schatz Preston / Prod. Guillermo Zouain, Wendy Muñiz, Tanja Tawadjoh
    An extended family in Colombia, facing genetic memory loss, serves as a focal point in Alzheimer’s research and family resilience.
  • "Terminal" (U.S.A.) / Dir. Abby Ellis / Prod. Fletcher Keyes
    Two scientists and a political figure fight to prevent an environmental disaster in Utah involving nuclear waste.
  • "The River" (U.S.A.) / Dir. Caitlyn Greene / Prod. Caitlyn Greene, Sara Archambault, Claire Haley
    Louisiana’s complex history with the Mississippi River comes to life in this character-driven environmental documentary.
  • "Untitled PMSR Film" (U.S.A.) / Dir. Tracy Jarrett / Prod. Emma Moley
    This documentary investigates post-mortem sperm retrieval through intimate stories of love and loss.

Through this year’s selection, the Sundance Institute | Sandbox Fund continues to elevate voices that explore pressing scientific and societal issues, bringing unique global perspectives to screens worldwide.