Adam McKay’s newest film, the Netflix dark comedy Don’t Look Up, has received the SFFILM Awards 2021 Sloan Science in Cinema Award.
The Sloan Science in Cinema Prize is presented annually and is a highlight of SFFILM’s year-round programming. Focusing on dramatic and entertaining films that illuminate the relevance of science and technology to our daily lives and highlight the accomplishments of scientists, engineers, or mathematicians, SFFILM and the Sloan Foundation seek to spotlight an important new film and provide a platform to enhance public understanding and celebrate science. Presented through a partnership between SFFILM and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the award celebrates the compelling depiction of scientific themes or characters in a narrative feature film.
Don’t Look Up follows two astronomers, Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) as they try to warn the world about an incoming “planet-killing” comet that is hurtling towards Earth with a 100% impact probability. Their biggest obstacle? The President of the United States, Janie Orlean (Meryl Streep), and her Chief of Staff son, Jason (Jonah Hill), along with all of her supporters.
“It is an honor to celebrate Don’t Look Up with Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Science in Cinema award. The Sloan Foundation’s commitment to promoting science in storytelling is crucial to understanding our world, especially during these complex times,” shared Director of Programming, Jessie Fairbanks. “While Adam McKay’s film is a parody of apathy and anarchy, it also serves as a powerful reflection of current world issues and the importance of factual truth.”
“We are thrilled to partner with SFFILM to award the Sloan Science in Cinema Prize to Adam McKay’s sly, hilarious and quietly terrifying cautionary tale, Don’t Look Up,” said Doron Weber, Vice President and Program Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “This meticulously researched film about two astronomers who try to warn the powers that be about impending doom is a chilling metaphor for the challenges we face today – from the COVID-19 pandemic to climate change. McKay’s trenchant satire dramatizes the terrible costs of ignoring scientific evidence presented by professionally trained scientists, even when those scientists are themselves flawed, imperfect human beings just like the rest of us.”
A Live Online Talk with director Adam McKay, physicist Joseph Barranco, and others will be on Friday, January 7 at 7:00 p.m. PT on sffilm.org. The event is free, but an RSVP is appreciated.
Don’t Look Up is currently playing in select cinemas and will be available to stream on Netflix on Friday, December 24. Check out our spoiler-free review, too!
