Simple Science: Redford, Harrison and Kirkman projects selected for 2008 TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund

A little cash can go a long way when developing a screenplay, and if you happen to be working on anything related to “stories about science and technology or portray scientists, engineers and mathematicians as major characters” then a hand over from the Tribeca Film Institute’s TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund should be among your priorities.

Today a jury comprised of Darren Aronofsky, Steven Shainberg, producer Caroline Baron, producer/writer Ann Druyan and a couple of profs and doctors selected the recipients of some financial and creative support. Among the project we find some familiar names including Amy Redford who has The Guitar coming out in November, and speaking of in November, Greg Harrison directed Courtney Cox in a film going by just that title and finally Tim Kirkman last directed Loggerheads for a very small theatrical run in 2005. 

The five selected projects selected received a sum of either 10,000 to 40,000 dollars:

Produced by David Baxter and Gretchen Somerfeld, scripted by Somerfeld and Jose Rivera and to be directed by Redford, Face Value story of screen siren Hedy Lamarr’s little-known vocation as an inventor and scientist. Working with avant-garde composer George Antheil, with whom she had a passionate affair, Lamarr patented “frequency hopping” to aid the US military in WWII. Little did she know, it would become a key component in most current wireless technology.

Produced by Danielle Renfrew and William Horberg and scripted and to be directed by Harrison, The Radioactive Boy Scout this is based on the true story of a 16-year-old Boy Scout in Michigan who, in 1995, attempted to build the core of a nuclear reactor in his backyard shed and was shut down by the Federal government.

Scripted by Alex Lyras and Michael Dorian, Alva is about Thomas Edison — America’s greatest inventor, or a clever thief with a pioneering acumen for marketing?  Alva explores the life of Edison from a precocious young rule breaker, to the full blown ‘Wizard of Menlo Park’.

Produced by Anil Baral and scripted by Kathryn Maughan, A Noble Affair sees Marie Curie was one of the leading feminist figures of the scientific world, facing obstacles in her professional and personal life, both exacerbated by gender discrimination. This is the story of how she proved the existence of the element Radium, thereby paving the way for many discoveries in nuclear science and earning her a second Nobel Prize.

Produced by Joshua Astrachan, Lucy Barzun Donnelly and Gill Holland with Kirkman screenwriting and directing, Kitty Hawk this is the story of the Wright Brothers, the original aviation pioneers, that chronicles their journey and struggles towards the first manned flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.