When Jake Schreier‘s directorial debut, Robot & Frank, debuted at Sundance this past January it took home the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize. The Alfred P. Sloan Prize has been awarded each year at Sundance since 2003, and is given to a feature film that focuses on science or technology as a theme, or depicts a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a major character. Each winner is presented with a $20,000 cash award provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Written by Christopher Ford, Robot & Frank stars Frank Langella as a curmudgeonly older dad whose kids install a robot as his caretaker. The film co-stars Susan Sarandon, James Marsden and Liv Tyler. The jury presented the award to Robot & Frank for its “humane and prescient portrait of the relationship between an aging father and his non-human caregiver, and for raising profound questions about the role of technology in our collective future.” Langella’s character — who is insulted at first by the prospect of spending his golden years accompanied by a walking computer — not only grows to develop a close friendship with his android buddy, his youthful imagination and sense of mischief also become reignited in a big way. Robot & Frank opens August 24th.
