Overview
The Athena Film Festival is a competitive festival at Barnard College in New York City dedicated to films about women's leadership. The 16th annual edition runs March 5 to 8, 2026. It is a joint project of Barnard College's Athena Center for Leadership and Women and Hollywood, the advocacy organization founded by Melissa Silverstein.
The festival's programming focus is specific: films must feature women in leadership roles or positions. This is not a general "women in film" festival. The selection criteria require that leadership - women exercising agency, authority, or decision-making power - is central to the narrative. Films are selected across all genres including narrative features, documentaries, and short films.
Barnard College's location in Manhattan's Morningside Heights neighborhood creates an audience combining students, faculty, New York's media and entertainment industry, and gender equity advocates. The festival operates year-round through its Creative Development Programs, which include the Athena Writer's Lab and the Athena List, building a pipeline of women-centered projects beyond the annual festival.
Submission Details
Athena accepts short film submissions through FilmFreeway. Feature films are curated by the programming team and are not submitted through the open call. Key details for the 2026 festival:
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Submission Fee | $15.00 |
| Submission Platform | FilmFreeway |
| Submission Window | June 2 to August 15, 2025 (for 2026 festival) |
| Eligible Films | Short films only (30 minutes or less) |
| Feature Films | Curated (email athenafilmfestival@gmail.com with title, synopsis, and fit) |
| Premiere Status | Considered but not strictly required |
| Non-English Films | Must be subtitled |
| Notification | Typically fall prior to the festival |
| Festival Dates | March 5 to 8, 2026 |
The $15 submission fee is low relative to most competitive festivals. Fee waivers are available for films written, directed, or produced by BIWOC (Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color) artists, and for filmmakers who cannot afford the fee for any reason. Email athenafilmfestival@gmail.com with the subject line "Fee Waiver Request" to apply.
The Athena List, a separate screenwriting competition for women writers, has no submission fee. Submissions for the Athena List typically open in late summer. The Writer's Lab has its own submission window, typically May to June, and charges a separate fee.
Festival Sections and Programs
- Feature Film Program - curated narrative and documentary features centering women's leadership
- Short Film Program - competitively selected short films (30 minutes or less) submitted through the open call
- Conversations - panel discussions with filmmakers, leaders, and advocates
- Athena Writer's Lab - a development program for women screenwriters, separate from the festival submission process
- Athena List - a screenwriting competition for unproduced scripts featuring women leaders, with no submission fee
- Teen Immersive Program - a program for teenage girls, with registration opening in the fall
Awards
Athena presents juried and audience awards. Based on past editions, awards include:
- Athena Award - for the film that best exemplifies the festival's mission of women's leadership
- Audience Award - voted by festival attendees
The festival also presents awards through the Athena List for screenwriting. Check the official website for current award categories and prize details.
Festival History
The Athena Film Festival was founded in 2011 by Kathryn Kolbert (then director of the Athena Center for Leadership at Barnard College) and Dorian Warren. The festival was created to address the underrepresentation of women's leadership stories in cinema and to build a platform for films presenting women as leaders with complexity and agency.
The festival has operated at Barnard College for its entire history. Over 15 editions, it has expanded from a single-weekend event to a four-day festival with year-round programming. The addition of the Writer's Lab and the Athena List extended the festival's mission beyond exhibition into active project development, creating a pipeline for women-centered scripts and films.
The partnership with Women and Hollywood connects the festival to a broader advocacy network that tracks gender parity in the film industry and campaigns for systemic change. This relationship gives Athena a policy and advocacy dimension that most film festivals do not have.
What Filmmakers Should Know
For filmmakers whose short films center women's leadership, Athena offers a low-cost submission ($15) with fee waivers available. The festival's New York City location and Barnard College setting provide access to media industry attendees, gender equity funders, and academic networks. The festival receives coverage from major outlets including The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, and IndieWire.
If you have a feature film, you cannot submit through the open call. Email the festival directly at athenafilmfestival@gmail.com with your film's title, a full synopsis, and an explanation of how it fits the women's leadership criteria. The programming team curates the feature program invitation-only.
The Athena List is a separate opportunity for screenwriters. If you have an unproduced script featuring women leaders, the Athena List has no submission fee and provides industry exposure. Check the FAQ page for current submission windows.
The festival's year-round Creative Development Programs mean that Athena is not just a screening opportunity but a development pipeline. The Writer's Lab accepts applications separately from the festival and provides mentorship and industry access for women writers. If you are developing a women-centered project, the Writer's Lab may be more valuable than a festival screening.
Past Winners
The Athena Film Festival distributes $70,000 in awards to filmmakers across multiple categories. Recent winners:
2026 (16th annual):
- Jaya Award ($10,000): Cutting Through Rocks (dirs. Sara Khaki, Mohammadreza Eyni) - also nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 98th Academy Awards. Won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2025 and audience awards at Visions du Reel and the New Zealand International Film Festival. Theatrical release at Film Forum in New York, November 2025.
- Breakthrough Award with Netflix ($25,000): Sarah Goher, director of Happy Birthday - awarded to a first- or second-time filmmaker without US theatrical distribution
- Chinonye Chukwu Emerging Writer Award ($10,000): Tamar Feinkind, writer of The Syndrome - given to a writer who previously participated in an Athena Writers Lab
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Athena List Development Grant ($20,000): Rachel Caccese, writer of The Aquanauts - for a script focused on a woman in a STEM-themed project
2025 (15th annual):
- Jaya Award: Jalene Keane-Lee, director of Standing Above the Clouds
Inaugural Jaya Award:
- Erica Tremblay, director of Fancy Dance - the film premiered at Sundance 2023 and was later acquired by Apple Original Films
Notable Alumni Films and Where They Ended Up
Athena's programming and development programs have tracked with real downstream career outcomes:
- Fancy Dance (dir. Erica Tremblay, inaugural Jaya Award winner) - premiered at Sundance 2023, screened at Athena 2024. Apple Original Films acquired distribution rights after Lily Gladstone used her awards season platform for Killers of the Flower Moon to advocate for the film. Theatrical release June 2024, streaming on Apple TV+. Tremblay went on to work as executive story editor on FX's Reservation Dogs and AMC's Dark Winds.
- Cutting Through Rocks (2026 Jaya Award winner) - won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2025, then received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature. Theatrical run at Film Forum in New York. This is the clearest recent example of Athena aligning with Oscar-caliber documentary programming.
- Clemency (dir. Chinonye Chukwu, Athena List winner) - Chukwu's script won the Athena List before the film was produced. Clemency went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2019, making Athena's early script recognition a direct contributor to a major festival win.
- I Am Woman (dir. Unjoo Moon, 2020 Athena Breakthrough Award) - the inaugural Breakthrough Award, sponsored by Netflix, came with $25,000 and supported the film's global rollout.
Submission Tips Specific to This Festival
Athena's programming criterion is narrow and specific: films must feature women in leadership roles or positions. This is not a general "women in film" festival. The selection committee looks for leadership as central to the narrative, not incidental. A film with a woman protagonist who does not exercise agency, authority, or decision-making power will not fit the criteria, regardless of quality.
For short filmmakers: the open call accepts films of 30 minutes or less through FilmFreeway. The $15 fee is low, and fee waivers are available for BIWOC filmmakers and anyone who cannot afford the fee. Email athenafilmfestival@gmail.com with the subject line "Fee Waiver Request."
For feature filmmakers: there is no open call. Email the festival directly at athenafilmfestival@gmail.com with the film's title, a full synopsis, and an explanation of how it fits the women's leadership criteria. The programming team curates the feature program by invitation only.
For screenwriters: the Athena List is a separate, free competition for unproduced scripts featuring women leaders. The Writers Lab has its own application window (typically May to June) and a separate fee. The Chinonye Chukwu Emerging Writer Award requires prior participation in an Athena Writers Lab.
Industry Reputation Notes
Athena operates in a different lane from most film festivals. The Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards, for comparison, is an industry awards event focused on career recognition, not film programming. Athena combines both: a curated screening festival plus a development pipeline through the Writers Lab and Athena List.
The Netflix partnership for the $25,000 Breakthrough Award gives Athena direct industry backing that most specialty festivals lack. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant for STEM-themed scripts adds another funding stream. In 2026, the festival distributed $70,000 total across its award categories.
Compared to Sundance, which programs broadly, Athena's narrow focus on women's leadership makes it a targeted platform. Filmmakers whose work fits the criteria get a more concentrated audience of gender equity funders, media industry attendees, and advocacy organizations.
The festival's year-round Creative Development Programs, including the Writers Lab and the Athena List, make it more than a screening opportunity. For women screenwriters developing women-centered projects, the Writers Lab may provide more long-term value than a single festival screening.
Watch
See Also
Calculate your total festival submission costs across multiple festivals using the Festival ROI Calculator. For women in film advocacy and awards, see Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards. For documentary filmmaking approaches, see Documentary Filmmaking Guide. Submit through the Athena FilmFreeway page or visit the official website.
