Behind the scenes with Oppenheimer filmmakers

What is the SFFILM Sloan Science in Cinema Prize?

In December, SFFILM, in partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, presented Christopher Nolan’s staggering global cinematic phenomenon Oppenheimer as the 2023 recipient of the SFFILM Sloan Science in Cinema Prize. This honor celebrates the compelling depiction of scientific themes or characters in a narrative feature film, and the special event featured a pre-screening conversation with Oppenheimer Production Designer Ruth De Jong, Editor Jennifer Lame, four-time Academy Award winning Sound Designer and Supervising Sound Editor Richard King along with University of California Berkeley Professor of Physics Benjamin Safdi.

SFFILM’s partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation—the nation’s leading philanthropic grantor for science and the arts—culminates in the SFFILM Sloan Science in Cinema Initiative. Launched in 2015, the program celebrates and highlights cinema that brings together science and the art of storytelling, showing how these two seemingly disparate areas can combine to enhance the power of one another. The selections are meant to immerse a broad public audience in the challenges and rewards of scientific discovery, as well as to engage members of the scientific community.

In the words of University of California Berkeley Professor of Physics Benjamin Safdi, “…the Trinity Test [scene]… I thought, as a viewer and as a physicist, was exhilarating. One thing I really appreciated that you did with the sound was [including] the delay. When the bomb went off, I was like ‘Oh okay, here comes the sound.’ And it didn’t, and I thought ‘Oh, all right! Checkmark for them!’

Watch the full conversation to hear about the making of this summer blockbuster.

SFFILM Sloan Science in Cinema Prize Conversation

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