- 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)