Athena Film Festival
The Athena Film Festival is an annual film festival held at Barnard College of Columbia University in New York City. The festival takes place in February and focuses on films celebrating women and leadership. In addition to showing films, the festival hosts filmmaker workshops, master classes and panels on a variety of topics relevant to women in the film industry. The Athena Film Festival was co-founded by Kathryn Kolbert, Founding Director of the Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College and Melissa Silverstein, founder of the Women and Hollywood initiative and the festival's Artistic Director. The tenth annual Athena Film Festival was held from February 27-March 1, 2020. Awards Each year, awards are granted to individuals who have made a significant impact in their industry over the course of their career. In 2012, The Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award was created in honor of the late Laura Ziskin, a noted producer and breast cancer advocate. Winners 2011 Leslie Bennetts, contributing editor at Vanity Fair Debra Martin Chase, producer Abigail Disney, documentary filmmaker Delia Ephron, screenwriter Greta Gerwig, actress Debra Granik, director Tanya Hamilton, director Chris Hegedus, documentary filmmaker Gini Reticker, documentary filmmaker Anne Rosellini, screenwriter and producer Nancy Schreiber,