The Athena Film Festival was founded to disrupt the barriers, behaviors, and attitudes that underlie the entertainment industry’s exclusionary history and traditions. Inclusion is integral to the mission of the Athena Film Festival, because inclusion is necessary in creating media that is truly reflective of our global community. We view this holistically, understanding that the definition is constantly evolving. Our definition includes race, color, nationality, ethnicity, class, religion, disability, age, sex, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.
We seek to serve as a model for proactively engaging with difference, with respect, dignity, openness, and acceptance, recognizing that being an inclusive society is our greatest strength. Therefore, we will continue to work affirmatively towards achieving new levels of diversity, inclusivity, accessibility, and anti-racism within our festival and the filmmaking industry.
