• By Mabel Pais

Opening Film Co- Producer Jannat Gargi of ‘COPA 71’

Co-Producer Sapana Sakya of ‘Here, Hopefully’

Producer Reaa Puri of ‘Tracing History’

The Athena Film Festival (AFF) at Barnard College, a partnership between Barnard’s AthenaCenter for Leadership and the initiative Women and Hollywood, will take place from February 29 through March 3 for its 14th edition on the Barnard campus, 3009 Broadway, New York, NY 10027.

The annual festival showcases narrative features, documentaries, and short films; in-depth conversations with filmmakers and thought leaders; and a wide variety of events focused on amplifying women’s leadership through storytelling around women’s sports, Indigenous perspectives, reproductive justice, disability representation, and more.

2024 ATHENA FILM FESTIVAL LINEUP

The lineup and full descriptions can be found below and on the AFF website (aff24.eventive.org). A selection of shorts will also be available to be screened through the festival’s virtual platform.

NARRATIVE FEATURES

Animalia

France, Morocco, Qatar; Director, Writer: Sofia Alaoui;

Producers: Margaux Lorier, Toufik Ayadi, Christophe Barral

Dancing Queen

Norway; Director: Aurora Gossé; Writer: Silje Holtet;

Producer: Thomas Robsahm

Earth Mama

USA, United Kingdom; Director, Writer: Savanah Leaf;

Producers: Sam Bisbee, Shirley O’Connor, Medb Riordan, Cody Ryder

Fancy Dance

USA; Director, Writer, Producer: Erica Tremblay; Writer: Miciana Alise;

Producers: Deidre Backs, Heather Rae, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Tommy Oliver

Fitting In

Canada; Director, Writer: Molly McGlynn; Producer: Jennifer Weiss 

Girl

United Kingdom; Director, Writer: Adura Onashile;

Producers: Rosie Crerar, Ciara Barry

The Persian Version

USA; Director, Writer, Producer: Maryam Keshavarz;

Producers: Peter Block, Luca Borghese, Anne Carey, Ben Howe, Cory Neal

Until Branches Bend

Canada, Switzerland; Director, Writer: Sophie Jarvis; Producers: Sara Blake, Magali Gillon-Krizaj, Tyler Hagan, Olga Lamontanara, Michela Pini

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

Breaking the News

USA; Directors, Producers: Heather Courtney, Princess A. Hairston, Chelsea Hernandez; Writer: Jamie Boyle; Producer: Diane Quon

COPA 71

Opening Film – New York Premiere

United Kingdom; Directors: Rachel Ramsay, James Erskine;

Producers: Victoria Gregory, Anna Godas, Jannat Gargi

The Disappearance of Shere Hite

USA; Director, Producer: Nicole Newnham; Producers: Molly O’Brien, R.J. Cutler, Elise Pearlstein, Kimberley Ferdinando, Trevor Smith

Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project

USA; Directors, Writers, Producers: Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster;

Producers: Tommy Oliver, Taraji P. Henson

Hummingbirds

USA; Directors: Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía Contreras

Co-Directors, Producers: Jillian Schlesinger, Miguel Drake-McLaughin, Diane Ng, Ana Rodríguez-Falcó; Producers: Leslie Benavides, Rivkah Beth Medow

Is There Anybody Out There?

United Kingdom; Director: Ella Glendining; Producer: Janine Marmot

No One Asked You

USA; Director, Writer, Producer: Ruth Leitman;

Producers: Rachel Rozycki, Andrea Raby

Periodical

USA; Director: Lina Lyte Plioplyte; Producer: Pegah Farahmand

The Philadelphia Eleven

USA; Director, Producer: Margo Guernsey; Producer: Nikki Bramley

Q [ ق ]

Lebanon, USA; Director, Producer: Jude Chehab; Producer: Fahd Ahmed

Twice Colonized

Canada, Denmark, Greenland; Director, Co-Writer: Lin Alluna;

Writer: Aaju Peter; Producer: Emile Hertling Péronard

Uncharted

USA; Director, Producer: Beth Aala

Your Fat Friend

USA, United Kingdom; Director, Producer: Jeanie Finlay

SHORTS

As You Are

USA; Director, Writer, Producer: Daisy Friedman;

Producers: Justine Sweetman, Eve Robitshek, Aspen Nelson

Beneath the Surface – New York Premiere

US; Director: Cai Thomas; Producer: Lauren Grace Cargo

FLOAT! – New York Premiere

USA; Director: Azza Cohen; Producers: Kathleen Borschow, Melissa Fajardo

Following Valeria – US Premiere

Germany; Director, Writer: Nicola Fegg; Producer: Julia Niethammer

Here, Hopefully

USA; Director: Hao Zhou; Producers: Tyler Hill, Sanjna Singh, Sue Ding, Chloë Walters-Wallace, Sapana Sakya

Hex the Patriarchy     

USA; Director, Producer: Anne Brashier; Writer, Producer: Heather Muriel Nguyễn; Producer: Xan Churchwell

How to Carry Water

USA; Director, Writer: Sasha Wortzel;

Producers: Colleen Cassingham, Jess Devaney, Anya Rous

In the End We’re All Music – US Premiere

Germany; Director: Katharina Schnekenbühl; Writer: Nathalie Zeidler;

Producers: Felix Sommer, Thomas Slatter

ISTINA (Wahrheit) [Truth]

Serbia, Germany; Director: Tamara Denić; Writer: David M. Lorenz;

Producer: Christian Siée

MADELAINE – New York Premiere

Nicaragua; Director: Leonor Zúniga; Producer: Roberto Guillén

Makeover Movie

USA; Director, Writer, Producer: Sue Ding

MnM    

USA; Director: Twiggy Pucci Garçon;

Producers: Colleen Cassingham, Jess Devaney

The Night Doctrine 

USA; Directors, Writers, Producers: Mauricio Rodriguez Pons, Almudena Toral; Writer, Producer: Lynzy Billing

Run Amok – New York Premiere

USA; Director, Writer: Nitzan Mager; Producer: Lela Meadow-Conner

The Script           

USA; Directors: Brit Fryer, Noah Schamus; Writer: Noah Schamus;

Producers: Colleen Cassingham, Jess Devaney

SULAM (The Ladder)

USA; Director, Writer, Producer: Noam Argov;

Producers: Bethiael Alemayoh, Sappir Argov

Take Me Home

USA; Director, Writer: Liz Sargent; Producer: Minos Papas

Tracing History

USA:  Director, Writer: Jalena Keane-Lee

Producer: Reaa Puri

TICKETS

Passes and tickets (aff24.eventive.org) and updates and 2024 honorees to be announced. Visit the Athena Film Festival (athenafilmfestival.com) website for regular updates and more information.

THE ATHENA FILM FESTIVAL

Founded in 2011, the Athena Film Festival (athenafilmfestival.com) champions diverse, nuanced, and complex stories of women leaders through its annual showcase of narrative films, documentaries, and short films, alongside powerful and thought-provoking conversations, and its numerous year-round creative development programs. To date, more than 540 films have been screened at the festival — 90% directed by women or nonbinary individuals — and Athena’s creative development programs have supported more than 700 filmmakers.

 THE ATHENA CENTER AT BARNARD COLLEGE

The Athena Center for Leadership (athenacenter.barnard.edu) is a hub for changemakers at Barnard College. The Center prepares Barnard students to lead change in this extraordinary moment and throughout their lives.

 WOMEN AND HOLLYWOOD

Women and Hollywood (womenandhollywood.com) educates, advocates, and agitates for gender parity and inclusion across the entertainment industry. Over the past 16 years, it has grown to be one of the most respected initiatives focused on women’s issues and popular culture, and its founder, Melissa Silverstein, has become a well-respected leader on the subject.

BARNARD COLLEGE

Barnard College (barnard.edu) provides a singular educational experience, as a world-renowned college focused on excellence across the arts and sciences, with all the academic resources of Columbia University and the City of New York as an extended classroom. Founded in 1889, Barnard was one of the few colleges in the nation where women could receive the same rigorous and challenging education available to men. Today, Barnard is one of the most selective academic institutions in the country and remains devoted to empowering extraordinary women to become even more exceptional.

ARTEMIS RISING FOUNDATION

Artemis Rising Foundation is dedicated to supporting media projects that transform our culture and challenge the status quo. Led by its founder and CEO, Regina K. Scully, the foundation champions powerful stories about some of the most challenging social justice issues of our time — including gender bias, healing, trauma, mental health, addiction, and women’s empowerment.

(Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Spirituality, Education, Cuisine, Health & Wellness, and Business)