Athena Film Festival

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:

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 that would elevate 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.

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.