• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Athena Film Festival

Athena Film Festival

March 2 - 5, 2023

  • About Us
    • Mission & Vision
    • Athena Code of Conduct
    • Founders
    • Team
    • Commitment to Inclusion
    • Accessibility
    • Land Acknowledgment
    • Photo Galleries
    • Press Inquiries
  • Support
    • Become A Sponsor
    • 2023 Sponsors
    • Volunteer
    • 2022 Organizational Partners
  • Submit
    • Submit to the WIP Program
    • Submit to The Writers Lab
      • Submit to the Screenplay Portal
      • Submit to the TV Portal
    • Submit Your Script
    • Submit Your Short
  • Program
    • Archive
  • Creative Development
    • Creative Development Program
    • The Athena List
    • Writers Labs
    • Works In Progress Program
    • Women & STEM
    • ARFF
    • Creative Development Awards
      • Breakthrough Award
      • The Chinonye Chukwu Emerging Writer Award
      • Alfred P. Sloan Athena List Development Grant
  • Buy Passes

Little Pink House {Opening Night Film}

Diana Event Oval

  • Director: Courtney Balaker
  • Writer: Courtney Balaker
  • Type: Features
  • Year: 2017
  • Country: USA
  • Language: English
  • Length: 99 Mintues
  • Screening: Feb 9 07:00 PM

Based on a true story, two-time Oscar® nominee Catherine Keener plays a small-town nurse Susette Kelo, who emerges as the reluctant leader of her working-class neighbors in their struggle to save their homes from political and corporate interests bent on seizing the land and handing it over to Pfizer Corporation. Susette’s battle goes all the way to the US Supreme Court and the controversial 5-4 decision in Kelo vs. City of New London gave government officials the power to bulldoze a neighborhood for the benefit of a multibillion-dollar corporation. The decision outraged Americans across the political spectrum, and that passion fueled reforms that helped curb eminent domain abuse.

Date: Thursday, February 9, 7PM and Saturday, February 11, 6PM
Location: Diana Event Oval, LL100 (2/9) and James Room, 418 Barnard Hall (2/11)
Q&A session to follow with director Courtney Moorehead Balaker and Susette Kelo

Filmmaker Bio:

Courtney Moorehead Balaker is an award-winning film director, producer, theatre director, and co-founder of Korchula Productions, a film and new media production company devoted to making important ideas entertaining. Courtney has produced for the likes of Dimension Films, The Weinstein Company, NBC News, PBS, and Universal Pictures. Courtney wrote, directed, and produced Little Pink House starring two-time Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener (Capote, Being John Malkovich, The 40-Year-Old Virgin) and Emmy nominee Jeanne Tripplehorn (Big Love, The Firm, Basic Instinct).

Courtney’s script was selected as a finalist for the Athena List, which recognizes the best scripts featuring strong female protagonists. Little Pink House will be released in 2017, and has been covered by publications such as The Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire, and Deadline Hollywood. Courtney co-authored a USA TODAY column about Little Pink House and Susette Kelo’s inspiring saga.

Courtney’s films have screened at more than 20 film festivals including Slamdance and the Hamptons International Film Festival. Her films have received many awards, and Cute Couple, a short film which she wrote and directed, received the audience choice award at the Jackson Hole Film Festival and Dances with Films in Los Angeles.

Footer

  • Home
  • Press
  • Become A Sponsor
  • Getting Here
  • Contact
  • Submit
  • Sitemap

Founding Organizations

Women and Hollywood
Athena Center for Leadership Studies

Founding Sponsor

Twitter Facebook YouTube Instagram

©2020 Athena Film Festival