Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) announced the 2017 grantees of the Sloan Filmmaker Fund today. The grants provide filmmakers funding and professional guidance in support of innovative and compelling films that offer a fresh take on science, mathematics, and technology.

This year’s TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund recipients will receive a collective total of $150,000 in grants to support their projects and will be honored at a reception during the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival which runs April 19-30.

This year’s grantees are “Adventures of a Mathematician,” written and directed by Thor Klein, “Invisible Islands” written and directed by Emily Lobsenz, and “One Man Dies a Million Times” written and directed by Jessica Oreck.

Shadow and Act readers might be interested in “Invisible Islands” which is the first series ever to be selected to receive the prestigious grant. “Invisible Islands” is a neo-noir anthology series set in Butte, Montana. The series takes a deep dive into the magical world of microbes. When her academic advisor disappears, Siobhan, a Trinidadian-born, Queens-bred overachiever, unites a motley crew of regulars at the Brewer’s Notch to investigate his demise; in so doing they transform their decrepit cider house into a scientific, cultural and culinary mecca while accidentally unearthing an environmental conspiracy that stretches back decades.

Amy Hobby, the Executive Director over at Tribeca Film Institute, said in a press release, “The three projects chosen this year to receive support from the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund shine a spotlight on how filmmakers can successfully weave themes of science and technology into films for mainstream audiences. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has been such a generous and committed partner in helping us recognize and reward filmmakers willing to take chances and push the boundaries of traditional narrative storytelling.”

The Sloan Filmmaker Fund helped support “Hidden Figures” in its early stages, and those efforts resulted in a hit film and a cultural watershed.