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Athena Film Festival

Athena Film Festival

February 29 - March 3, 2024

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The Athena Film Festival Writers Lab

Submissions Are Now Open 

The Athena Film Festival Writers Lab is a three-day creative development workshop for emerging writers which provides storytellers with creative guidance, training, industry access, and a valuable, supportive network. Applicants must submit a project that features a woman or women characters in a leadership role or position at the center of the story.

The Fall 2023 Athena Film Festival Writers Lab will be held virtually on September 19-21, 2023.

 

FYI- We have been in contact with the legal department at the WGA and have been assured that submitting your materials would not put you in breach of strike protocols. 

Eligibility Criteria

  • Projects must have a woman (girl) or women character(s) in leadership role(s) or position(s). Projects from all genres are accepted, we look for stories about women from all racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural groups;
  • Episodic writers cannot have had a pilot that was aired within the past 10 years – Projects must have been completed before January 1, 2013;
  • Feature writers cannot have had a feature film released within the past 10 years – Projects must have been released before January 1, 2013;
  • Projects (features) must be written in English and between 80 and 120 pages;
  • Projects (pilots) must be written in English and no more than 60 pages;
  • If you have been on the Athena List, you can submit a project, but it CAN NOT be a script that was on the Athena List;
  • If you have previously attended the lab, you cannot reapply for five years, but if you have been a part of the TV lab, you can submit a project to the Screenwriters lab and vice-versa;
  • Scripts based on existing material will be considered, as long as the writer(s) have secured the underlying rights to the source material;

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.

Have more questions about The Writers Lab? Check out our FAQ page.

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