The third annual Athena Film Festival brought industry leaders to Barnard’s campus for a weekend in February to celebrate the achievements of women in the film and allied industries and discuss the challenges they face. The festival screened 21 features, documentaries, and shorts centered on or created by women—or both. A highlight of the festival was the awards presentation, which took place at a red-carpet celebration attended by more than 300 people. Gale Anne Hurd, executive producer of the top-rated AMC show The Walking Dead, won the Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award. Hurd has been recognized for hiring women and minority directors. The Athena Film Festival Awards were presented to filmmaker Ava DuVernay, award-winning director of Middle of Nowhere; film critic and author Molly Haskell; Lincoln Center Film Society executive director Rose Kuo; and Paley Center for Media CEO, Pat Mitchell. The Festival was also cochaired by a dazzling roster of industry leaders, including producer and activist Regina Kulik Scully, founder and CEO of Artemis Rising Foundation, founding sponsor of the film festival.
