The 2016 Athena List is now accepting submissions!
A Celebration of Women and Leadership
The Athena Film Festival is the only major film festival dedicated to the depiction of women in leadership roles. Now in its sixth year, our films feature courageous and audacious women who are making a difference in communities across the globe.
The Athena List
“The Black List— a yearly list of great scripts that are circulating in Hollywood but have not yet become movies — has a new gender-conscious cousin.” ~ Lily Rothman, Time.Com
In 2013, only 30% of all characters in the top 100 grossing films were women, and only 15% were the protagonist of the story*. The lack of strong female leads in movies is striking, so much so that actress Cate Blanchett used her Oscar speech to encourage Hollywood to think about films differently. Films with women leads are not just “niche” films, but the successful films that they are, and the evidence supports this. In 2013, in the top 100 grossing films, films with a female protagonist grossed 20% more than films about men.**
In an attempt to remedy this, the Athena Film Festival has created the Athena List, an annual slate of between 3-5 screenplays with female leaders or strong female protagonists that have yet to be made into films.
