In partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, this fellowship supports selected writers working on feature-length and episodic scripts that focus on women in STEM who will or have participated in the Athena Film Festival Writers Lab.
Through the fellowship, writers are paired with mentors who will provide both creative support and STEM support over a period of 6-months.
2024 & 2023 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellows
Screenplay
Talk Black by Destiny Macon
A timid engineer develops a wild and expressive split personality to help her speak up to the boy’s club at work and prevent “urban renewal” in a historically black neighborhood.
The Countess by Irina Rodriguez
The Countess is the true story of Ada Lovelace, a Victorian woman whose groundbreaking work with Charles Babbage earned her the pivotal role of history’s first computer programmer.
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.
Mileva by Emilija Gasic and Nicola Lanthier-Rogers
As a young girl, Mileva Marić fights for the best possible education in physics and mathematics, earning a spot at an all-boys high school and, eventually, the Swiss Polytechnic. But despite great talent, intelligence, and drive, through her adult life Mileva lacks opportunity due to patriarchal limitations and expectations. Mileva is the story of an incredible woman whose cosmic collision with Albert Einstein results in a star-crossed romance, a brutal divorce, and the theory of relativity itself.
Episodics
The Aquanauts by Rachel Caccese
In the summer of 1970, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sends the first all-female team of marine biologists on a two-week underwater mission. The women must battle the dangers below while overcoming obstacles on the surface. Inspired by real events
La Forza by Justine Beed
LA FORZA is a semi-historical dramedy following the electric life of physicist Laura Bassi – the first female professor. And the husband who was her assistant.
The Home Front by Rosalind Grush
Imperial College, London, 1915: A brilliant female chemist organizes a top-secret team of all-women scientists to develop weapons strong beat back the Germans. Inspired by true events, this is the story of a band of women who fought for suffrage and equal treatment in the workplace while serving their country on the dangerous frontlines of inventing chemical warfare.
Public Health by Myra Aquino
A disgraced surgeon is forced to take on a temporary job at the decrepit Public Health Department of West Palm Beach, Florida, and must figure out how to get her old job back.
Push It! by Mirella Christou
Push It! is the story of an under-the-radar women’s rights activist who fights an uphill battle with heavy personal costs to finance and orchestrate the creation of the revolutionary birth control pill. It is based on true events.
Previous Fellows
Bound by Ice by Nancy Kates
Scarce by Mrittika ‘Mou’ Sarin
Phantom by Jennifer Noonan
Ray of Life by Kate Sheffield
Standard Error by Bárbara Soares
Activated by Cara Greene Epstein
All Through the Night by Mary Elder
In partnership with the
