2025 ATHENA FILM FESTIVAL AT BARNARD COLLEGE ANNOUNCES

PROGRAMMING SELECTIONS FOR 15TH ANNUAL EVENT

 

Festival opens March 6 with SATISFIED, an intimate story documenting Renée Elise Goldsberry’s journey

while creating her iconic HAMILTON role, and runs through March 9

 

Festival will close with HOME COURT, about basketball prodigy Ashley Chea following her pursuit of college-level hoop dreams 

 

 

NEW YORK (February 6, 2025) – The Athena Film Festival (AFF) at Barnard College today announced the narrative and documentary feature lineup for its 2025 showcase. A partnership between Barnard’s Athena Center for Leadership and the initiative Women and Hollywood, this year’s event marks the 15th anniversary of the festival, which will take place March 6 - March 9, 2025, on the Barnard campus in New York City. Each year, the festival presents narrative and documentary features and short films, in-depth conversations with filmmakers and thought leaders, and a wide variety of events focused on amplifying women’s leadership through storytelling.

 

AFF will open with the inspirational documentary Satisfied, from directors Melissa Haizlip and Chris Bolan. The film gives viewers an intimate look at Renée Elise Goldsberry’s journey navigating motherhood and originating the role of Angelica Schuyler in the groundbreaking Broadway musical Hamilton. Closing film Home Court, directed by Erica Tanamachi, showcases the grit of first-generation immigrant and basketball prodigy Ashley Chea as she prepares for her college athletic career.

 

“Our 2025 festival marks 15 years of championing diverse, authentic narratives through a powerful, women-centered lens,” said Melissa Silverstein, artistic director of Athena Film Festival. “The impact of this endeavor is shaped by the creators who bring these stories to life, as well as the audiences who support and amplify their reach.”

 

“This milestone anniversary is a testament to the enduring power of storytelling and the filmmakers who challenge perceptions of women’s leadership,” said Umbreen Bhatti ’00, Constance Hess Williams ’66 Director of the Athena Center for Leadership at Barnard College. “This year’s programming lineup reflects our mission to magnify compelling, women-led stories that inspire change and spark meaningful dialogue. A heartfelt thank you to the festival’s founding sponsor, the Artemis Rising Foundation and its CEO Regina K. Scully, for her enduring support of our work.”

 

The festival lineup showcases women’s leadership through diverse, complex, and nuanced women-centered stories from around the world, with narrative features, including Claire Ayoub’s uplifting coming-of-age comedy Empire Waist; Margherita Vicario’s Gloria!, which celebrates the unrecognized female composers of neoclassical-era Venice; the NYC premiere of Rachel Feldman’s 2014 Athena List-winning script Lilly, starring Emmy and Golden Globe winner Patricia Clarkson; Belgian Spanish-language drama Mexico 86 from writer/director César Diaz; Lillah Halla’s Brazilian sports drama Power Alley (Levante); Yasemin Şamdereli’s Samia, which follows an assertive young woman as she fights to become an Olympic athlete; Racheal Cain’s sci-fi thriller Somnium; Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Guy Nattiv’s sports thriller Tatami, the story of an Iranian judoka and her coach facing a dilemma from the Islamic Republic government during the World Judo Championships; Anu Valia’s feature directorial debut, We Strangers, a haunting study of race, class, and assimilation in Gary, Indiana; and Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu’s directorial debut We Were Dangerous, a hopeful story of friendship and rebellion against cruel leadership in 1954 New Zealand.

 

2025 documentary selections include Shiori Ito’s Academy Award-nominated Black Box Diaries, which follows the filmmaker as she embarks on a courageous investigation of her own sexual assault; Alina Simone’s Black Snow, a look at the remote Siberian city that discovered an old Soviet mine had caught fire beneath their neighborhood and the turmoil it brings to a local homemaker-turned-journalist, Natalia Zubkova; Erica Tanamachi’s Home Court, about basketball prodigy Ashley Chea following her pursuit of college-level hoop dreams and the highs and lows of her Cambodian immigrant family’s experiences in America throughout her high school years; the NYC premiere of Norita, from writers/directors Andrea Tortonese and Jayson McNamara, who take viewers on the gripping journey of Argentina’s tumultuous history through the eyes of a mother seeking justice for her disappeared son during the dark days of the country’s dictatorship; Catherine Gund’s Paint Me a Road Out of Here, the wild tale of Faith Ringgold’s monumental painting “For the Women’s House”; Standing Above the Clouds, Jalena Keane-Lee’s exploration of intergenerational healing and the impacts of safeguarding cultural traditions, all through the lens of mothers and daughters in three Native Hawaiian families; and Elizabeth Sankey’s Witches, an examination of the relationship between cinematic portrayals of witches and postpartum depression, utilizing film history footage and personal testimony.

 

This year’s documentary lineup also features several inspirational stories of women trailblazers: Aoife Kelleher’s Mrs. Robinson, a captivating portrait of the first female president of Ireland, Mary Robinson; Hannah Berryman’s Spacewoman, a moving look at the life of astronaut Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot and command a spacecraft; and Soraya Sélène and Billy Miossi’s Who in the Hell Is Regina Jones?, a view into the life of a groundbreaking publisher navigating a world that offered her no favors.

 

AFF’s 2025 lineup and full descriptions can be found below. For more information, please visit AthenaFilmFestival.com. 2025 Festival Sponsors include the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Netflix, Walt Disney Studios, AMC Networks, Secret Sauce Media, Hanky Panky, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Dobkin Family Foundation, Illumine Service Foundation, Evenstar Films, Christine A. Schantz, the Katie McGrath & JJ Abrams Family Foundation, and Attitude New York. The festival’s accessibility sponsor is the Loreen Arbus Foundation. The Athena Film Festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

 

NARRATIVE FEATURES

Empire Waist

USA

Language: English

Director, Writer: Claire Ayoub

Producers: Andrew Calof, Crystal Collins

Lenore is a teen deeply insecure about her weight. Hiding her passion for fashion design, she tries to make herself invisible in her day-to-day life to avoid being bullied by her classmates and image-conscious mother. Lenore’s father, Mark, is her biggest cheerleader, and her best friend Kayla is confident, funny, outgoing, and proud of her plus-size body. Through their support, along with that of her teacher Ms. Hall, Lenore is encouraged to step outside her comfort zone and embrace her talent.

 

Gloria!

Italy

Language: Italian

Director, Writer: Margherita Vicario

Writer: Anita Rivaroli

Producers: Carlo Cresto-Dina, Valeria Jamonte, Manuela Melissano

Set in a girls’ institute in Venice at the end of the 1700s, Gloria! tells the story of Teresa, a young woman with a visionary talent who, together with a small group of extraordinary musicians, crosses centuries and challenges the dusty catafalques of the ancien régime by inventing rebellious, light, and modern music.

 

Lilly

USA

Language: English

Director, Writer, Producer: Rachel Feldman

Writer: Adam Prince

Producers: Allyn Stewart, Kelly E. Ashton, Kerianne Flynn, Jyoti Sarda, Simone Pero, J. Todd Harris, Christine Schwarzman, Julie Kaufman

NYC Premiere

Based on a true story, Lilly chronicles the transformation of an aggrieved Alabama tire factory worker into an American hero.

 

Mexico 86

France, Belgium

Language: Spanish

Director, Writer: César Díaz

Producers: Anne-Laure Guégan, Delphine Schmit, Géraldine Sprimont

In 1976, death threats force Maria, a Guatemalan rebel activist fighting against the corrupt military dictatorship, to flee to Mexico, leaving her son behind. Ten years later, when he comes to live with her, she is forced to choose between her duties as a mother and continuing her revolutionary activism.

 

Power Alley [Levante]

Brazil

Language: Portuguese

Director, Writer: Lillah Halla

Writer: María Elena Morán

Producers: Louise Bellicaud, Claire Charles-Gervais, Rafaella Costa, Santiago Lopez, Kathleen McInnis

On the eve of a key championship, 17-year-old volleyball star Sofia faces an unwanted pregnancy, battling a fundamentalist group to reclaim her future.

 

Samia

Italy, Germany, Belgium

Languages: Arabic, English, Somali

Director, Writer: Yasemin Şamdereli

Writers: Nesrin Şamdereli, Giuseppe Catozzella

Producers: Simone Catania, Dietmar Güntsche, Anja-Karina Richter, Michele Fornasero, Francesca Portalupi, Martin Rohé, Joseph Rouschop, Riccardo Russo, David Herdies, Michael Krotkiewsju, Iman Ismail, Christoph Fisser

Samia defies taboos by racing through the streets of Mogadishu, in a society where a woman is not supposed to run. Her passion will one day take her to the Olympic Games.

 

Somnium

USA

Language: English

Director, Writer: Racheal Cain

Producers: Maria Allred, Chris Raby, Ali Aksu, Patricia Chica, Mike Hatton, Andrea Saavedra

With hopes of making it big in L.A., small-town transplant Gemma takes the overnight shift at a mysterious sleep clinic, Somnium, but quickly discovers a darkness lurking within.

 

Tatami

Israel, U.K.

Languages: English, Persian

Director: Zar Amir Ebrahimi

Director, Writer, Producer: Guy Nattiv

Writer: Elham Erfani

Producers: Jaime Ray Newman, Mandy Tagger

In the first feature film to have both an Iranian and an Israeli director, Leila, an Iranian judo athlete, is put in political danger when her government tells her to fake an injury and withdraw from the world championships rather than face an Israeli rival in the final, forcing her to make a life-or-death decision.

 

We Strangers

USA

Language: English

Director, Writer: Anu Valia

Producers: Joy Jorgensen, Alex Bach, Olivia Wingate, Zach Spicer, Miranda Kahn

Rayelle Martin, a commercial cleaning woman in Gary, Indiana, stumbles into a new job cleaning the homes of several rich, suburban families. While working, she tells one small lie that spins out of control.

 

We Were Dangerous

New Zealand

Language: English

Director, Writer: Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu

Writer: Maddie Dai

Producers: Polly Fryer, Morgan Waru

In 1954, Māori teenagers Nellie and Daisy are sent to the Te Motu School for Incorrigible and Delinquent Girls after minor offenses. There, they meet Lou, a European teenager from a privileged background. Under the strict supervision of the devout Matron, the institution aims to reform the girls into obedient housewives, suppressing their cultural identities and personal freedoms. The trio’s bond strengthens as the Matron’s authoritarian methods intensify. They devise a plan to escape the island facility, culminating in a daring act of rebellion that challenges the oppressive system.

 

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

Black Box Diaries

Japan, USA, U.K.

Languages: English, Japanese

Director, Producer: Shiori Ito

Producers: Hanna Aqvilin, Eric Nyari

Journalist Shiori Ito embarks on a courageous investigation of her own sexual assault in an improbable attempt to prosecute her high-profile offender. Her quest becomes a landmark case in Japan, exposing the country’s outdated judicial and societal systems.

 

Black Snow

USA

Language: Russian

Director: Alina Simone

Producer: Kirstine Barfod

When the residents of a remote Siberian city discover an old Soviet mine has caught fire beneath their neighborhood, they turn to Natalia Zubkova, a local homemaker-turned-journalist, for help. But after her news videos go viral, she suddenly finds herself the target of a massive government disinformation campaign.

 

Home Court - Closing Night

USA

Languages: English, Cambodian

Director, Writer, Producer: Erica Tanamachi

Writer: Jean Kawahara

Producers: Jenn Lee Smith, Brandon Soun

Home Court is the story of basketball phenom Ashley Chea in her pursuit of college-level hoop dreams. In the three years the film follows her, we witness the highs and lows of her Cambodian immigrant family’s experiences in America.

 

Mrs. Robinson

Ireland

Language: English

Director: Aoife Kelleher

Producer: Cormac Hargaden, Trisha Canning

Unfolding a story about female leadership, human rights activism, and climate action, Mrs. Robinson tells the inspirational life story of change-maker Mary Robinson: Ireland’s first female president, a pioneering U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, the successor of Nelson Mandela as Chair of The Elders, and the co-founder of Project Dandelion, a women-led climate justice movement.

 

Norita

Argentina, USA

Languages: Spanish, English

Directors, Writers: Jayson McNamara, Andrea Tortonese

Writer, Producer: Melissa Daniels

Producers: Sarah Schoellkopf, Jayson McNamara, Francisco Villa

NYC Premiere

Norita takes viewers on a gripping journey through Argentina’s tumultuous history, in which a personal tragedy becomes a catalyst for change. As a mother seeking justice for her disappeared son during the dark days of Argentina’s dictatorship, Norita’s unwavering determination and fearless activism led her to co-found the renowned Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a pivotal human rights organization. The film chronicles her journey to seek justice for the past while inspiring the next generation of women’s rights activists. Norita has been held up as a symbol by the women’s movement, dating back to the 1980s, and is seen as a fundamental fixture in the movement’s success during Argentina’s 2020 campaign to legalize abortion.

 

Paint Me a Road Out of Here

USA

Language: English

Director, Producer: Catherine Gund

Producer: Tanya Selvaratnam

In 1971, artist Faith Ringgold created a monumental painting, “For the Women’s House,” for the women incarcerated at Rikers Island jail. Fifty years later, artist Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter, who gave birth in prison 15 years ago, finds herself banding together with an eclectic group of activists, politicians, artists, corrections officers, and Faith Ringgold herself to free the artwork with the ultimate goal of freeing the women. Paint Me a Road Out of Here is a wild tale of the painting’s whitewashed journey and the two artists who challenged the same powerful and oppressive institutions, a half century apart, with their artwork, their voices, and their shared, persistent goals.

 

Satisfied - Opening Night

USA

Language: English

Directors, Producers: Chris Bolan, Melissa Haizlip

Producers: Steven Cantor, Jamie Schutz

Against the backdrop of the hit musical Hamilton, actress Renée Elise Goldsberry balances family and career while originating the role of a lifetime.

 

Spacewoman

U.K.

Language: English

Director, Writer: Hannah Berryman

Producers: Natasha Dack Ojumu, Keith Haviland

Astronaut Eileen Collins was the first woman to pilot and command a spacecraft. Born to a working-class family in upstate New York, she smashed many glass ceilings in the U.S. Air Force and at NASA during her career, culminating in four increasingly dramatic and dangerous space shuttle missions. With an incredible set of archival materials, intimate interviews, and a moving score by Marcelo Zarvos, Hannah Berryman’s nail-biting film shares the emotional journey experienced by Eileen’s family and asks the philosophical question about what level of risk is acceptable in human endeavor.

 

Standing Above the Clouds

USA

Language: English

Director, Producer: Jalena Keane-Lee

Producers: Amber Espinosa-Jones, Erin Lau

When the massive Thirty Meter Telescope is proposed to be built on Mauna Kea, an uprising of kiaʻi (protectors) in Hawaiʻi and around the world dedicate their lives to protecting the sacred mountain from destruction. Through the lens of mothers and daughters in three Native Hawaiian families, Standing Above the Clouds explores intergenerational healing and the impacts of safeguarding cultural traditions.

 

Who in the Hell Is Regina Jones?

USA

Language: English

Directors: Soraya Sélène, Billy Miossi

Writer: Regina Jones

Producers: Alissa Shapiro, Nancy Novack

New York Premiere

The extraordinary life of Regina Jones is not only one shaped by history but also one that made history. From pregnant and married at 15, through the middle of the Watts Rebellion of 1965, to emerging as a groundbreaking newspaper publisher, Regina is a testament to the American experience. That lived experience — as a Black American woman raising a family of five children, stepping in places where she was not wanted, and navigating a world that offered her no favors — is one that is still too often overlooked. Who in the Hell Is Regina Jones? turns a lens on Regina’s remarkable journey: the invisible labor, the turmoil, the struggle, and the joy of a modern-day Black woman.

 

Witches

U.K.

Language: English

Director, Writer: Elizabeth Sankey

Producers: Manon Ardisson, Chiara Ventura, Jeremy Warmsley

Witches examines the relationship between cinematic portrayals of witches and postpartum depression, utilizing historical film footage alongside personal testimony.

 

This year’s sponsors include the festival’s founding sponsor, Artemis Rising Foundation and its CEO Regina K. Scully, as well as the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Hanky Panky, Netflix, AMC Networks, the Dobkin Family Foundation, Evenstar, Illumine Service Foundation, Michela & Leslie Masson, Christine A. Schantz, Secret Sauce Media, Walt Disney Studios, ANSIRH Abortion Onscreen, Abigail E. Disney, Jess Jacobs, Sheila Nevins, We Testify, Adrienne Shelly Foundation, the Katie McGrath & JJ Abrams Family Foundation, Lifetime, Reavis Page Jump LLP, and Whitewater Films. The Accessibility Sponsor is the Loreen Arbus Foundation, and the Transportation Sponsor is Attitude New York.