For the fourth year, Barnard College, the most sought-after women’s college in the nation, will celebrate women’s leadership both on and off-screen at the Athena Film Festival, scheduled to take place from February 6-9, 2014.

The Festival aims to expand the definition of what it means to be a female leader, highlighting the many ways that women can and do make a difference. The weekend program exhibits a wide range of cinema including Academy Award-nominated films, top tier features, documentaries, and shorts. The Festival’s audiences are invited to engage in conversations with directors, writers, and producers that challenge convention and examine leadership with a new lens.

The Athena Film Festival will accept submissions from June 15 – September 15.

We are looking for documentaries, features and shorts that:

* Reveal the diverse narratives of women leaders from all walks of life—narratives of ambition, courage, strength and resilience.

* Showcase women leaders who help us interpret the reality of the modern world—captivating stories of truth, determination, innovation and vision.

* Highlight the talents of emerging artists — capturing a new generation’s take on what truly makes exemplary women leaders.

Important Information To Keep in Mind:

* All films must feature a female in a leadership position at the center of the story.

* Films may be directed by a person or people of any gender.

***** Films that are directed by women but do not focus on female leadership will not be considered.*****

If you are interested in submitting your film to the Athena Film Festival, please submit the following information to athenafilmfestival@gmail.com

* A brief synopsis of the film and any relevant links (especially trailers)

* Type of film: documentary, feature, or short.

* Running time, country of origin and language of film.

* Year the film was made.

* Type and date of release (if applicable)

* Names of film festivals or other venues your film has been shown (if applicable)

* Contact information: Name, email, address, phone number and Skype.

* Rights Holder Information: Name, email, address, phone number and Skype. (if it is different from the contact information)

If your film falls into the festival criteria and we would like to watch your film for potential inclusion in the festival,  you will be contacted.

Please do not contact us.

Submissions need to be on DVD (in NTSC format) or available online (with no password expiration date.)

 Submission deadline: September 15, 2013

For all questions contact: athenafilmfestival@gmail.com

Here is the film’s executive producer and Athena Film Festival founding sponsor, Regina Kulik Scully talk about this mass epidemic of sexual abuse in the military.

More details to follow.

This is one of the only times of the year when the world is paying attention to the film business, not just movies.  The entire industry is on display this weekend and it is still extremely imbalanced.

This is the second year we have created a video to help make people think about the gender imbalance in Hollywood, especially in the area of directing.

Please share this far and wide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MW1KKwBIGmA

For more information check out Women and Hollywood

Director David Riker at the post-screening Q&A for THE GIRL

Though Winter Storm Nemo prevented some scheduled screenings and Q&A’s from going on as planned, the Athena Film Festival provided a much-needed distraction for those looking to escape the snow. Saturday’s lineup included The Girl, a film that tells the story of Ashley (Abbie Cornish), a young woman battling alcoholism and struggling to regain custody of her son. In an attempt to earn extra money, she offers to bring a group of immigrants from Mexico to Texas. When her plan goes drastically awry, she must take care of Rosa (Maritza Santiago Hernandez), a young girl who longs to be reunited with her grandmother in Oaxaca. In the days that follow, Ashley and Rosa teach each other about responsibility, trust, and what it means to be a caretaker.

Writer and director David Riker was present for a post-screening Q&A, which he called the most “profound” Q&A in which he had ever participated. Indeed, the discussion skipped over surface-level questions in favor of a deep discussion about language, immigration, and the portrayal of the film’s protagonists.

Throughout the filmmaking process, Riker asked himself, “How do we make films that deal with other cultures and approach the issue of language?” The answer, in part, was to make the film bilingual; Riker conveyed Cornish’s commitment to the role of Ashley by sharing that she learned to speak Spanish specifically for the film. The heavy use of Spanish, as well as the film’s nuanced perspective on immigration, has led to The Girl being “wildly embraced” in Mexico.

The audience was particularly interested in analyzing the portrayal of Ashley and the ways in which she changes over the course of the film’s narrative. Ashley does not start out as an especially likeable protagonist and, as Festival co-founder Melissa Silverstein pointed out, “It’s harder for women to be unlikeable [than men].” Riker admitted that he doesn’t believe Ashley necessarily changes, but she possesses a level of responsibility and personal agency at the end of the film that she lacks at the start. “I wanted Ashley to grow,” he explained. “I don’t think I could make films if I didn’t believe that it’s possible to change.”

Finally, the discussion turned to the film’s title: to whom does The Girl refer? Riker asked the audience to raise their hands if they believed the titular girl was Rosa, Ashley, or both. The room was divided – there is no clear answer. This, it seems, was Riker’s intention. From the beginning, “it seemed like the only title,” he said.

The Girl will open in limited theatrical release on March 8, International Women’s Day. Keep an eye out for it in a theater near you

Carrie Nelson is a writer and filmmaker, committed to using media to advocate for social justice. Follow her work at www.carolyn-nelson.com.

Approximately 85 women braved the falling snow on Friday to attend From Script to Screen: Producing a Short Film, led by representatives from the AFI Directing Workshop for Women (DWW). The two-hour event took the fledgling filmmakers through the independent producing process, step-by-step. Attendees walked out of the event with a greater understanding of the logistic and business concerns of filmmaking, as well as the resources that AFI offers young women who are new to the industry.

The panelists included Joe Petricca, Executive Vice Dean of AFI Conservatory; Annetta Marion, DWW alumna and television producer; Chris Schwartz, Manager of AFI Conservatory and National Workshops; and Patty West, Associate Manager of AFI Conservatory. All brought their individual expertise and enthusiasm to the discussion as they reviewed the process of fundraising, budgeting, scheduling, shooting, editing, and distributing a short narrative film. Along the way, they made sure to use the experiences of DWW graduates as examples of best practices for producing. For example, the successful Kickstarter campaigns organized by DWW alumni Trisha Gum and Kit Pongetti were screened as examples of strong approaches to fundraising.

As for the nuts and bolts of producing, some of the tips offered by the panelists included:

• Separate your personal finances from your film’s budget by creating a DBA account.
• Consider your marketing strategy early on. Said West, “Think about your marketing campaign [during pre-production]…It’s a business from start to finish.”
• Never be afraid to solicit your personal and professional networks for contributions while fundraising. “You’re not going to get anything if you don’t ask for it,” explained Marion.
• Make sure you speak the same language as your cinematographer and gaffer. Even though you’ll be hiring crew members, “Try to get comfortable with the technical elements of filmmaking,” West suggested.
• Don’t try to carry the entire weight of the film on your own. West believes that “Successful producing is really great delegation.”

The advice offered during From Script to Screen is critical for any newcomer to the world of production. For those women who want further guidance and education as they develop their professional careers, the panelists recommend applying to the DWW program. Marion, a graduate of the program, shared that projects have come to her since finishing the program, and that DWW introduced her to her true passion of producing for documentary television. “I don’t know if I would have come to that on my own,” she concluded.

For further information about applying to DWW, visit their website.

Carrie Nelson is a writer and filmmaker, committed to using media to advocate for social justice. Follow her work at www.carolyn-nelson.com.

Athena Film Festival’s Artistic Director Melissa Silverstein and Film Director Lisa Gossels speak with the audience after the screening. Courtesy of the United States Mission to the United Nations.

As you prepare for your visit to the 3rd annual Athena Film Festival, please join us in revisiting four short films that screened as works-in-progress during last year’s festival.

Now complete, the films are part of Athena Global Shorts, a DVD compilation created in partnership with UN Women. Last month, the finished series premiered at a screening at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Though diverse in content and style, all of the films featured share a commitment to empowering women as storytellers and creators of their own narratives. As Donna Ann Welton, Deputy Director of Communications & Public Diplomacy for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, stated in her opening remarks before last month’s premiere, “As my boss Hillary [Clinton, former Secretary of State] says, it is important that women help each other…We need to keep each other’s stories.”

The four films in the Athena Global Shorts collection are directed by women and share the stories of women in Israel (Tasnim, directed by Elite Zexer), Mexico (Frente Noreste, directed by Angela Torres Camarena), Kenya (Umoja: No Men Allowed, directed by Elizabeth Tadic), and the United States (The Director, directed by Destri Martino). Though tailored to the realities of the regions in which they were produced, the films explore a variety of universal themes, including the importance of family, the challenges presented by cultural traditions, the necessity of women-only spaces as a response to violence, the fight to protect one’s children from danger, and the struggle for gender equality in the workplace. Though created through women’s voices and lenses, the films are accessible to diverse audiences, regardless of gender or cultural background. As the narrator in The Director aptly declares “I can direct even if I look and sound like a woman.” The Athena Global Shorts reaffirm the notion that women-directed films have a unique ability to share women’s stories and are produced with the same quality and care found in the best films directed by men.

The Athena Global Shorts collection will be distributed as an educational resource, furthering the mission of celebrating the power, audacity, and creativity of women from around the world. Contact the Festival for further information about ordering the films for screenings in your community.

Carrie Nelson is a writer and filmmaker, committed to using media to advocate for social justice. Follow her work at www.carolyn-nelson.com.

Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and the Farm Midwives: Grace Rice from Choices in Childbirth

Brave Miss World: Cecilia Peck (Director) & Inbal Lessner (Producer/Editor)  Actress, activist, comedian and rape survivor Fran Drescher, who appears in the film, will join the filmmakers for this discussion.

Future Weather: Kristin Fairweather (Producer), Anubhav Jain (Actor)

The Girl: David Riker (Director)

Granny’s Got Game: Angela Alford (Director) and team captain, Judy Barton

Hannah Arendt: Pamela Katz (Screenwriter).  Moderated by journalist Regina Weinreich

Inocente: Yael Melamede (Producer)

The Invisible War:  Maria Cuomo Cole and Regina Kulik Scully (Executive Producers), Rebekah Havrilla (Service Women’s Action Network)

I Stand Corrected:  Andrea Meyerson (Director/Executive Producer) and  Jennifer Leitham (film subject)

Women Aren’t Funny: Bonnie McFarlane (Director)

Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines: Kelcey Edwards (Producer) Carmela Lane and Katie Pineda will join the discussion.

Who is Pauline Park: Jamerry Kim (Filmmaker) following both screenings.

Devout: Pamala Plastock, Elissa Kaplan, Chani Getter (Sunday only) and Howard Weinberg will join the audience for a Q&A.

Our Rhineland: Faren Hume (Director) Saturday’s screening

She Who Excels in Solitude: Mako Kamitsuna (Director) Saturday’s screening.

Prizefighter: Heather Hardy (Subject) and Devon (Trainer)

Self-Portrait with Cows Going Home and Other Works: A Portrait of Sylvia Plachy: Rebecca Dreyfus (Director) and Sylvia Plachy will attend the screening on Sunday.

Abandoned by her single mom, a teenaged girl becomes obsessed with ecological disaster, forcing her and her grandmother, a functioning alcoholic, to rethink their futures. Inspired by a New Yorker article on global warming, Future Weather uses the refuge of science and the environment as a backdrop as the two women learn to trust each other and leap into the unknown.

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