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.
2025 & 2026 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellows
Abel’s Baby: Precious Cargo by Hallie Stephenson
Abel Saffey, a science prodigy born in the mid 18th century, finds herself in crisis when she is accused of double homicide and sentenced to live out her days in the new Australian penal colonies. She discovers she is pregnant while aboard the prisoner transport ship and uses her expert knowledge of 18th century physics, engineering and chemistry to save herself and her unborn child.
The Syndrome by Tamar Feinkind
In 1982, The Bronx, a mysterious illness affecting homosexual men is taking over a small clinic, and second-year resident Deborah Rosen, a closeted, lesbian, struggles to treat these men who only remind her of her own worst parts of herself, and who visually trigger the emaciated images of her relatives who perished in the Holocaust. When a homeless woman, Rene, comes in with a nasty eye infection and depleted T cells, Deb suspects that Rene is actually her long-lost cousin and is the first woman Deb has seen with the illness. Deb can repress her survivor’s guilt no more – Deb invites Rene into her apartment, claiming it will be just for the night, but both Deb and Rene know that this is the start of a deep, platonic love.
Unfluence by Makisa Francis
In a near-future world dominated by social media, influencer Siena Rae checks herself into Unfluence, a cutting-edge rehab facility for digital addiction. Seeking recovery from the toxic grip of likes, shares, and endless validation, Sienna expects detox and therapy—but what she finds is far more insidious.
Drift by Tra Nguyen
DRIFT tells the true story of Marie Tharp, a brilliant but overlooked geologist who quietly changed the course of science by mapping the ocean floor and helping prove continental drift. Working in isolation and often dismissed for her gender, Marie builds a groundbreaking partnership with oceanographer Bruce Heezen—one filled with tension, loyalty, and buried emotion. As she uncovers the hidden architecture of the Earth, Marie must also fight to be seen in a world that insists on erasing her.
Danni’s Hard Drive by Megan Green
Based on the true story of the only woman to appear on the cover of The Wall Street Journal and Juggs Magazine. At the dawn of the internet in 1994, Danni Ashe, an ambitious exotic dancer, teams up with a brilliant computer programmer-turned stay at home mom to launch one of the world’s first porn sites.
Lady Doctor by Mayanka Goel
Dr. Taneesha Bedi arrives in the rural village of Saphale expecting bad plumbing and a complete lack of sex education. What she finds instead is a tight-knit community and an apparent virgin birth. Driven by science (and the need to outsmart the village nurse), Dr. Bedi sets off to uncover the mystery, only to be surprised – not just by the test results but the village itself.
Previous Fellows
Beaverton by Emma Parker
Eruption by Katla Sólnes
Exodus by Leslie Borchert
Inventrix, The: Margaret Knight Biopic by Michael Ann Dobbs
The Aquanauts by Rachel Caccese
Rare Earth by Nadine Pequeneza
Talk Black by Destiny Macon
Ada & The Machine by Irina Rodriguez
A Bridge Between Us by Gina Hackett
Mileva by Emilija Gasic and Nicola Lanthier-Rogers
La Forza by Justine Beed
The Home Front by Rosalind Grush
Public Health by Myra Aquino
Push It! by Mirella Christou
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
