The Athena Film Festival is an annual film festival held at

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. The festival takes place in February and focuses on films celebrating women and leadership. In addition to showing films, the festival hosts filmmaker workshops, master classes and panels on a variety of topics relevant to women in the film industry. The Athena Film Festival was co-founded by Kathryn Kolbert, Founding Director of the Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College and Melissa Silverstein, founder of the Women and Hollywood initiative and the festival's Artistic Director. The tenth annual Athena Film Festival was held from February 27-March 1, 2020.

Awards

Each year, awards are granted to individuals who have made a significant impact in their industry over the course of their career. In 2012, The Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award was created in honor of the late Laura Ziskin, a noted producer and breast cancer advocate.

Winners

2011

*Leslie Bennetts, contributing editor at '' Vanity Fair'' *

Debra Martin Chase Debra Martin Chase (born October 11, 1956) is an American motion picture and television producer. Her company, Martin Chase Productions, is affiliated with Universal Television, a division of NBCUniversal Television Group. It was affiliated with ...

, producer * Abigail Disney, documentary filmmaker *

Delia Ephron Delia Ephron ( ; born July 12, 1944) is an American bestselling author, screenwriter, and playwright. Life and career Ephron was born in New York City, the second eldest of four daughters of screenwriters Phoebe and Henry Ephron. Her movies i ...

, screenwriter *

Greta Gerwig Greta Celeste Gerwig (; born August 4, 1983) is an American actress, screenwriter, and director. She first garnered attention after working on and appearing in several mumblecore films. Between 2006 and 2009, she appeared in a number of films ...

, actress * Debra Granik, director *

Tanya Hamilton Tanya Hamilton (born in Spanish Town, Jamaica) is an American film director and producer. She came to the United States at the age of eight, and settled in Maryland with her mother. She attended Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Cooper Union fo ...

, director * Chris Hegedus, documentary filmmaker *Gini Reticker, documentary filmmaker * Anne Rosellini, screenwriter and producer *Nancy Schreiber, cinematographer * Anne Thompson, writer *

Debra Zimmerman Debra Zimmerman is an American film distributor and lecturer. She has been the Executive Director non-profit media arts organization Women Make Movies since 1983. Life and career Zimmerman was born in New York City. In the late 1970s she worked ...

, executive director of

Women Make Movies Women Make Movies is a non-profit feminist media arts organization based in New York City. Founded by Ariel Dougherty and Sheila Paige with Dolores Bargowski, WMM was first a feminist production collective that emerged from city-wide Women's Li ...

2012

* Laura Ziskin, accepted by her daughter Julia Barry (Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award) *Nekisa Cooper, producer *The Fempire:

Diablo Cody Brook Maurio (''née'' Busey; born June 14, 1978), known professionally by the pen name Diablo Cody, is an American writer and producer. She gained recognition for her candid blog and subsequent memoir, '' Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unl ...

Dana Fox Dana Fox (born September 18, 1976) is an American screenwriter. She is best known as the writer of '' The Wedding Date'' (2005), ''What Happens in Vegas'' (2008), and the television comedy series ''Ben and Kate'' (2012–13). Career Fox graduate ...

, Liz Meriwether, and Lorene Scafaria * Rachael Horovitz, producer *

Theresa Rebeck Theresa Rebeck (born February 19, 1958) is an American playwright, television writer, and novelist. Her work has appeared on the Broadway and Off-Broadway stage, in film, and on television. Among her awards are the Mystery Writers of America's ...

, author and playwright *

Dee Rees Diandrea Rees (born February 7, 1977) is an American screenwriter and director. She is known for her feature films '' Pariah'' (2011), '' Bessie'' (2015), '' Mudbound'' (2017), and '' The Last Thing He Wanted'' (2020). Rees has also written and d ...

, director *

Julie Taymor Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera and film. Her stage adaptation of ''The Lion King'' debuted in 1997, and received eleven Tony Award nominations, with Taymor receiving Tony Awards for Best ...

, film and Broadway director

2013

Gale Anne Hurd Gale Anne Hurd (born October 25, 1955) is an American film and television producer, the founder of Valhalla Entertainment (formerly Pacific Western Productions), and a former recording secretary for the Producers Guild of America. Early life Hu ...

, producer (Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award) *

Ava DuVernay Ava Marie DuVernay (; born August 24, 1972) is an American filmmaker, television producer and former film publicist. She is a recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award, a NAACP Image Award, a BAFTA Film Award and a BAFTA TV Award, as well as a nominee ...

, director and distributor *

Molly Haskell Molly Clark Haskell (born September 29, 1939)Aitken, Ian, ed. (2006)''Encyclopedia of Documentary Film, Volume 2'' New York: Routledge. p. 541. . is an American feminist film critic and author. She contributed to ''The Village Voice''—fir ...

film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outl ...

*Rose Kuo, (former) executive director of Film Society of Lincoln Center * Pat Mitchell, president of the

Paley Center for Media The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York with a branch office in Los Angeles, dedicated to ...

2014

Sherry Lansing Sherry Lansing (born Sherry Lee Duhl; July 31, 1944) is an American philanthropist and retired film studio executive. She is a former CEO of Paramount Pictures and president of production at 20th Century Fox. In 1996, she became the first woman ...

, former studio executive and philanthropist (Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award) * Callie Khouri, director and screenwriter *

Kasi Lemmons Kasi Lemmons (; born Karen Lemmons, February 24, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter, and actress. She made her directorial debut with ''Eve's Bayou'' (1997), followed by '' Talk to Me'' (2007), ''Black Nativity'' (2013), '' Harriet ...

, director * Keri Putnam, executive director of the

Sundance Institute Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and composers fr ...

2015

Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the hono ...

, actress and director (Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award) *

Sheila Nevins Sheila Nevins (born April 6, 1939) is an American television producer and head of MTV Documentary Films division of MTV Studios. Previously, Nevins was the President of HBO Documentary Films. She has produced over 1,000 documentary films for HB ...

, president of

HBO Documentary Films Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television, premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office busi ...

Gina Prince-Bythewood Gina Maria Prince-Bythewood (born June 10, 1969) is an American film director and screenwriter. She is known for directing the films '' Love & Basketball'' (2000), ''Disappearing Acts'' (2000), '' The Secret Life of Bees'' (2008), '' Beyond the L ...

, director *

Cathy Schulman Cathy Schulman (born 1965) is an American film producer. A graduate of Yale University, Schulman's screen credits include ''Isn't She Great'', ''Sidewalks of New York (2001 film), Sidewalks of New York'', ''Employee of the Month (2004 film), Em ...

, producer

2016

Mira Nair Mira Nair (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her production company, Mirabai Films, specializes in films for international audiences on Indian society, whether in the economic, social or cultural spher ...

, Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award * Geralyn Dreyfous, Athena Award *

Karyn Kusama Karyn Kiyoko Kusama (born March 21, 1968) is an American filmmaker. She made her directorial and writing feature film debut with the sports drama film '' Girlfight'' (2000) for which she received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for ...

, Athena Award *

Jeanine Tesori Jeanine Tesori (known earlier in her career as Jeanine Levenson) is an American composer and musical arranger best known for her work in the theater. She is the most prolific and honored female theatrical composer in history, with five Broadway m ...

, Athena Award *

Paul Feig Paul Samuel Feig (; born September 17, 1962) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is known for directing films starring frequent collaborator Melissa McCarthy, including '' Bridesmaids'' (2011), '' The Heat'' (2013), '' Spy'' (20 ...

, Leading Man Award * Suffragette, Ensemble Award *

Kate McKinnon Kate McKinnon Berthold (born January 6, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She is known for her character work and celebrity impressions on the sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (2012–2022), of which she was a cas ...

, presenter

2017

* Eve Ensler, playwright, activist, performer and author *

Patricia Riggen Patricia Riggen (born June 2, 1970) is a Mexican film director. She is best known for directing the 2007 film ''Under the Same Moon'' and the 2011 Disney Channel original film '' Lemonade Mouth''. Early life and career beginnings Riggen was bor ...

, director * Regina K. Scully, producer *

David Oyelowo David Oyetokunbo Oyelowo ( ; born 1 April 1976) is a British actor, director and producer. His accolades include a Critics' Choice Award and two NAACP Image Awards as well as nominations for two Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards ...

, actor, leading man award

Athena List

In 2014, the festival announced the first edition of the Athena List, created to highlight finished, unproduced screenplays featuring roles with female leaders. The list is based on the concept of the popular Hollywood Black List, with a gender-conscious angle.

Selected scripts

2014

2015

2016

*"A Noble Affair" by Anil Baral and Kathryn Maughan *"In the Land of Fire and Ice" by David MacGregor *"Ride the Wind" by Denise Meyers *"Virginia" by Bess Wohl

2017

*"Claude" by Hannah Patterson *"Clemency" by

Chinonye Chukwu Chinonye Chukwu ( ; born May 19, 1985) is a Nigerian-American film director best known for the drama films ''Clemency (film), Clemency'' and ''Till (film), Till''. She is the first African-American woman to win the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize ...

*"Mrs. Christie" by Jamie Dawson *"Scott" by Anna Rose Moore

2018

* ''True North'' by Katherine Ruppe * ''Throw Like A Girl'' By Lori Bell Leahy * ''Saving Esperanza'' by Betty Sullivan * ''WHITE'' by A. Sayeeda Moreno

2019

* ''Hedy'' by Giovanni Porta * ''Out of My Mind'' by Daniel Stiepleman * ''Roe v. Wade'' by Jennifer Majka * ''The Defining Moment'' by Margaret Nagle

2020

* ''Auto High'' by Nina Kentsis * ''Good Chance ormerly Mother-Daughter' by Tricia Lee * ''Noor'' By Nijla Mu’min * ''Over It'' by Joy Goodwin * ''What the Eyes Don’t See'' by

Cherien Dabis Cherien Dabis (born 1976) ( ar, شيرين دعيبس) is an American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter. She was named one of ''Variety'' magazine's ''10 Directors to Watch'' in 2009, and in 2022 was nominated for the Outstanding Dir ...

2022

* ''Sunflower: The Fannie Lou Hamer Story'' by

Aunjanue Ellis Aunjanue L. Ellis ( born February 21, 1969) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Men of Honor'' (2000), '' The Caveman's Valentine'' (2001), '' Undercover Brother'' (2002), ''Ray'' (2004), '' The Express: The Ern ...

* ''The Gatekeeper'' by

Jennifer Vanderbes Jennifer Vanderbes is an American novelist, journalist and screenwriter. Biography Early life Vanderbes was born in New York City. She attended the Dalton School and earned a B.A. in English ''magna cum laude'' from Yale University. While at Y ...

* ''Ray of Life'' by Kate Sheffield

External links

Official website

References

{{Reflist Film festivals in New York City Barnard College Annual events in New York City