Sharing this year's program for the 12th Annual Athena Film Festival (AFF), a joint partnership event between Barnard's Athena Center for Leadership & Melissa Silverstein's WOMEN IN HOLLYWOOD. The festival will be hybrid this year, taking place in-person at Barnard College from March 11th -13th, and virtually from March 11th - 20th.
The festival will open with Mariama Diallo's debut feature, MASTER, starring Regina Hall, Amber Gray and Zoe Renee; and also screen Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes' THE JANES, about Chicago's underground service for women seeking abortions as a Spotlight Film. Additional narrative selections include: the New York Premiere of Rachel Carey's DEADLY CUTS, Gaysorn Thavat's THE JUSTICE OF BUNNY KING, and a special 20th anniversary screening of REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES.
Documentaries include the United States Premiere of IDA LUPINO: GENTLEMAN AND MISS LUPINO from Clara Kuperberg and Julia Kuperberg, the New York Premieres of Sue Carpenter and Belmaya Nepali's I AM BELMAYA, Ida Joglar's KILI BIG, and Kim Bartley's PURE GRIT; as well as Tosca Looby's STRONG FEMALE LEAD about Australia's first and only female Prime Minister.
AFF's program will also feature in-depth conversations and panels with filmmakers and industry experts, a series of programs that support the pipeline of women creatives, and a wide variety of events focused on celebrating and amplifying the stories of bold, courageous women leaders.
More information on this year's programming can be found HERE. Additional festival details below. Let us know if there is any interest in coverage - happy to discuss further.
12th ANNUAL ATHENA FILM FESTIVAL
Hybrid Festival To Be Held In-Person March 11-13th & Virtually March 11-20, 2022
FULL LINE UP CAN BE FOUND HERE
HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE
OPENING NIGHT FILM - Mariama Diallo's debut feature, MASTER
SPOTLIGHT FILM - The New York Premiere of Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes' THE JANES
Panels to investigate and address society's most pressing issues: Accessibility is a Right, Not the Newest Hollywood Trend; Let's Talk About Sets: How Intimacy Coordinators Are Making Sets Safer; Thinking Beyond the Binary: Should Gendered Categories Still Exist?; Political Leadership; The Future of Latinx Stories in Hollywood; What is the Next Phase for Reproductive Rights?, and Pushing Boundaries in a World Full of Limits: A Conversation About The Challenges of Creating Entertainment Today
Festival to screen a number of World, U.S., and New York Premieres from Female Filmmakers tackling a wide range of subject matter.
ABOUT ATHENA FILM FESTIVAL
Over the past ten years, the Athena Film Festival has established itself as the premier festival dedicated to celebrating and elevating women's leadership. Our festival highlights films showcasing women's leadership from underexplored perspectives; women leading in all places and spaces who are resisting and refuting preconceived notions of all they can be and do. Through our Parity Pipeline Program we are bolstering the pipeline of women creatives who are telling these stories and fostering a network of women in film.
The Athena Film Festival is a joint project of Barnard College's Athena Center for Leadership and Women and Hollywood. The festival's founding sponsor is the Artemis Rising Foundation and its CEO Regina K. Scully.