“Earth” Scores $20K Alfred P. Sloan Prize at Sundance

Mike Cahill’s “Another Earth” is the recipient of the 2011 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The award includes $20,000 cash from Sloan, and is 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.”

Now in its ninth year, Alfred P. Sloan Prize Feature Film Prize is a major component of the Sundance Institute Science-in-Film Initiative. The winning film was selected by a committee of film and science professionals “for its original use of subtly rendered scientific concept – the sudden appearance of an alternate Earth where everyone may be living parallel lives and destinies – to explore the themes of remorse and forgiveness.”

Screening in Sundance’s U.S. Dramatic Competition, the film is a sci-fi romance, which centers on the discovery of a mirror Earth, starring Brit Marling, who also co-wrote and produced the film. William Mapother also stars. Fox Searchlight recently picked up rights to “Earth,” and the film will be honored at Saturday night’s Sundance awards ceremony.

“We are delighted to partner with Sundance Institute for the ninth consecutive year in recognizing outstanding feature films that dramatize science and technology themes,” commented Doron Weber, Vice President of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in a statement. “‘Another Earth’ is a beautiful example of how filmmakers can take complex scientific ideas such as the multiverse and create unforgettable and moving human stories that appeal to a wide audience.”

Added Keri Putnam, Executive Director, Sundance Institute, “The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation provides to our artists support at critical points in their filmmaking journey. The vitality of our Feature Film Program is intimately connected to the foundation’s year-round funding and we are grateful for this robust partnership.”