Our Signature Script Competition
About the Athena List
The Athena List is an annual feature-length script competition that selects exceptional scripts featuring women leaders at the heart of the story. As the signature program of the Athena Film Festival’s Creative Development program, The Athena List’s goal is to raise the profile of the winning scripts and writers within the industry, with the purpose of getting these movies made and elevating the writers’ careers to the next level.
Participants in the Athena List are eligible for the Alfred P. Sloan Athena List Development Grant and the Disney Athena List Development Grant.
Timelines
Submissions for the 2025 Athena List are now OPEN! Learn more and apply here.
Program Participants
2024 Winners
A BRIDGE BETWEEN US by Gina Hackett
Devoted wife Emily reluctantly steps into her husband’s role as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge when he’s paralyzed during its Victorian-era construction, encountering jealousy and discrimination as she becomes the world’s first female engineer. Based on a true story, A BRIDGE BETWEEN US tracks the building of a bridge and the collapse of a marriage.
I DON’T DREAM IN SPANISH ANYMORE by Missy Hernandez
A scientist must return to her roots to escape the horrors of an ancestral curse that threatens to kill her and her unborn child.
KEESHA GOES TO CAMP by Rebecca Jordan Smith
When a nerdy Black tween is sent to an outdoor summer camp, she finds her introverted booksmart ways challenged by nature, rivals and the opposite sex.
2024 Finalists
7 ON 10 by Samantha Lavin
When a former WNBA player is sentenced to seven years in prison for vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, she must face her past on and off the court, for a chance to find freedom.
LIARS by Alicia Louzoun-Heisler
A queer, character-driven thriller set in Silicon Valley. Vera is a brilliant neuroscientist whose work hasn’t gotten its due. Desperate to escape the stress of conceiving her first child with her wife via IVF, Vera is pulled into a mind-bending mystery when she’s hired to use her patented A.I. lie detection technology to vet accusations of sexual misconduct against the would-be CEO of a major tech company. She becomes entangled in a web of corporate lies and a dangerous love triangle that just might end her marriage.
THE PENDULUM WOMAN by Katherine Hayes
Recently divorced and well connected, Edith Wharton determines to stay in Paris at the outbreak of World war One to help in the fight for France.
SKRRRT! By Gabriela García Medina & Katherine Kraft
When a teen girl with muscular dystrophy learns she’s been accepted into Harvard but can’t afford to go, she gathers a crew of high-school frenemies to attempt an impossible car heist during Art Basel, Miami.
For a complete list of past winners and finalists of The Athena List, click here.
Rules and Eligibility
- Scripts must have a woman (girl) or women character(s) in leadership role(s) or position(s). Projects from all genres are accepted, and stories about women from all racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural groups are encouraged;
- Scripts must be feature-length (we do not accept shorts or television scripts);
- Scripts must be in advanced development. DO NOT SUBMIT A FIRST DRAFT;
- Projects submitted MUST have taken part in a writer’s lab or intensive, or actively be working with industry members (such as a manager, agent, executive, and/or producer) on their project;
- Scripts based on existing material will be considered, as long as the writer(s) have secured the underlying rights to the source material;
- Screenplays that are fully financed and in pre-production are not eligible. They can be optioned and have producers and/or talent attached;
- Screenplays previously submitted and considered for the Athena List are not eligible;
- Scripts must be written in English and between 80 and 120 pages;
- Entries lacking a logline on the application form will be disqualified;
- Our submission process is two-tiered: we first review the synopsis of your script to see if it fits the criteria above; if it does, it will then be read in full. If your script does not fit the criteria it WILL NOT be considered;
- The Athena Film Festival encourages applications from people of all races, religions, national origins, sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions, and ages, as well as veterans and individuals with disabilities. We strongly encourage you to apply if you are from a marginalized or underrepresented group, particularly in the film industry.
For more information, check out our FAQ page or reach out to us at athenafilmfestival@gmail.com.
