Humans in the Loop, director Aranya Sahay’s piercing exploration of the human cost of artificial intelligence, has officially entered the Oscar race after receiving the prestigious Film Independent Sloan Distribution Grant. The award, presented by Film Independent in partnership with the Alfred P Sloan Foundation, supports films that meaningfully engage with themes of science and technology, offering strategic distribution assistance to bring such stories to broader audiences. With this recognition, Aranya and producer Mathivanan Rajendran have also been named Film Independent Fellows, joining a legacy of filmmakers whose works such as The Imitation Game, Hidden Figures, The Man Who Knew Infinity, and Oppenheimer, have reshaped public engagement with science-centric storytelling.
The film follows an indigenous woman employed at a rural data-annotation centre in India, shedding light on the unseen labour that fuels the world’s machine-learning systems. Through its intimate narrative, Humans in the Loop examines the ethical complexities, cultural tensions, and systemic inequities embedded within the global AI pipeline, emphasising empathy and lived experience as essential components of technological discourse.
Aranya, the film’s writer-director, described the grant as a timely affirmation of the film’s purpose. “We are at a cusp with artificial intelligence, and humanity needs to take responsibility for the kind of AI and the kind of future we are building,” she said. “Humans in the Loop is about the human heartbeat inside technology, and this grant recognises the people whose labour and stories often remain unseen.”
Producer Mathivanan Rajendran highlighted how the project aligns with the mission of the Museum of Imagined Futures, where he and Aranya work to reshape how stories about technology are told. “The Sloan Foundation’s support and now the film’s entry into the Oscar race validate that creatives can help shape the future of tech,” he noted.
Film Independent’s Associate Director of Fiction Programs, Dea Vazquez, emphasised that the film’s thoughtful approach to exploring AI fits perfectly within the Sloan mandate to elevate nuanced, human-driven science narratives.
The film’s US distribution strategy will be led by executive producer Misaq Kazimi, who recently joined the team. Following a weeklong Los Angeles showcase and screenings at UCLA, the film continues to spark cross-sector conversations about AI’s societal impact. With its US theatrical release complete and eligibility criteria met, Humans in the Loop now advances as a contender for the 98th Academy Awards in the Best Original Screenplay category.
For more updates, join/follow our
https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb677uz60eBXiDYheb0n