Hey y'all,
The summer heat isn't the only unstoppable force in Austin right now, as we've been hard at work planning for IMI Fest 2024.
We're also thrilled to accounce a brand new partnership that presents an incredible opportunity for creators to receive life-changing funding for an upcoming project! Which includes an exciting line-up of industry-leading names who will make up the jury...
Plus, we've got a staff-curated list of our favorite noteworthy YouTube videos this month, where you can find out what creators are capturing our attention right now.
Let's get to it!
Meet our new partner!
We are so incredibly proud to be partnering with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation!
We've long admired the outstanding work that the Sloan Foundation has done to champion science stories in media. Including support for Hidden Figures, the best-selling book that became the highest-grossing Oscar-nominated film of 2017, and Kai Bird & Martin Sherwin’s Pulitzer Prize-winning American Prometheus, adapted for Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-winning film Oppenheimer.
The Sloan Foundation was also an early funder of science-themed audio storytelling, providing pioneering support for Radiolab, and podcasts like Planet Money, Lost Women of Science, and Science Friday.
When we founded IMI, our dream was to help provide transformative funding to creators, enabling them to bring their exceptional work to life. This partnership with Sloan is yet another way that we're able to see that dream fully realized.
The Sloan Science Prizes for YouTube
While our IMI Awards recognize retrospective works, our partnership with Sloan will provide substantial funding for future projects. There are a TON of extremely talented creators out there who desperately need funding to bring their creative vision to life, which is why we are so excited about this opportunity!
Question: if you had $50,000 of unrestricted support for your next project, what would you make? What about $100,000...?
We're delighted to announce two Sloan Science Prizes for YouTube:
Do you have a project or idea that fits into one of these categories? We'd love it if you'd consider applying!
Or perhaps you know someone who would be the perfect candidate for this? Please, share this far and wide!
We are going to be interviewing semi-finalists in October, after which a jury will choose the two winners at IMI Fest in November!
Head over to scienceandfilm.org to browse through many more of the outstanding projects that have been made possible thanks to Sloan prizes and grants.
Meet the Judges
In order to adequately assess your prospective pitches we needed to assemble an exciting panel of exceptional individuals to pour over each submission and weigh each one on its merit...
Introducing our fabulous five-piece jury!
Jonathan Nolan
A screenwriter, director, and producer known for creating complex, thought-provoking stories. He co-created Westworld and co-wrote films like The Dark Knight and Interstellar. Frequently collaborating with his brother Christopher Nolan, he explores themes of time, memory, and artificial intelligence in his work.
Destin Sandlin
Creator and host of the YouTube channel SmarterEveryDay, which explores the world through science. Sandlin is a United States civilian army missile engineer dedicated to making science accessible to a broad audience.
Sabrina Cruz
Co-creator and host of the YouTube channel Answer in Progress, which strips away the stigma of not knowing things and brings back the joy in learning. Cruz has a degree in math from the University of Toronto.
Stephon Alexander
Theoretical physicist, musician, and author who explores connections between cosmology, particle physics, and quantum gravity. Alexander is a professor of physics at Brown University and author of The Jazz of Physics, which links music with our understanding of the structure of the universe.
Elaine Sevier
Co-founder and Director of Strategic Development at IMI, she holds a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard Medical School and completed her undergraduate studies at Stanford.
What a list, right?!
The jury will be at IMI Fest 2024 to announce the two winners of the Sloan Prizes!
IMI Staff Picks
The year is 2024. Pesky AI machines and faceless algorithms continue to push endless content into your already over-saturated feeds. IMI has decided that enough is enough.
It's time to bring a little human curation back into the fold!
That's right: from now on, each newsletter will feature a handpicked selection of content that has captivated our wonderful staff.
 Stuart Co-Founder   Alan Becker Geometry vs Animation
|  Elaine Co-Founder  Beryl Shereshewsky Convince Me to Like Walnuts |  Kyndal Chief of Staff  KPassionate Why are Orcas Called Killer Whales? |
 Haley Festival Director  Esther Ikoro The 80 million Year Old Bacteria that Live Inside Bees!! |  Amanda Media Production  Ideas Before Bed Perfection almost made me quit art |  Rob Editor & Producer  Ro Radmin The Worst Content Farm On Youtube |
See you next month! 🤠
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