The Athena Film Festival (AFF) has announced more of its 2018 lineup. Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton’s “Battle of the Sexes,” a biopic about the famous 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, will serve as the fest’s opener. King is set to participate in a post-screening conversation. Best Picture nominee “The Post” will be the closing night film. The drama follows Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham and her decision of whether or not to publish the Pentagon Papers.
Athena’s centerpiece film will be “Mankiller,” Valerie Red-Horse Mohl’s documentary about legendary activist Wilma Mankiller. The screening will be followed by a conversation between Red-Horse Mohl, exec producer Gale Anne Hurd, and Gloria Steinem. Washington Post film critic Ann Hornaday will moderate.
The festival will also host a special presentation of “UnREAL’s” third season premiere. Series star Shiri Appleby, showrunner/EP, Stacy Rukeyser, and co-creator/EP Sarah Gertrude Shapiro will participate in a post-screening discussion.
“We are proud to announce our stellar opening night, centerpiece, and closing night films in addition to our special television presentation for the 2018 Athena Film Festival,” said Melissa Silverstein, fest co-founder and Artistic Director and founder and publisher of Women and Hollywood. “Our current lineup showcases the diverse and exceptional work of women in the industry both in front of the camera and behind it.”
“We couldn’t be more thrilled about our lineup of inspiring and diverse films this year,” added Kathryn Kolbert, fest co-founder and Constance Hess Williams ’66 Director of the Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College. “We look for films that continue the conversation of inclusion and equality, and feel that our newly announced films accomplish just that.”
Among the other new additions to AFF 2018 are “Miss Sharon Jones!,” Barbara Kopple’s doc about the titular music icon, Niki Caro’s drama about workplace harassment, “North Country,” and “Patti Cake$,” a comedic portrait of an aspiring female rapper.
The fest has also announced a master class with Alexa Junge and a panel on women in STEM professions.
Co-founded by Barnard College’s Athena Center for Leadership Studies and Women and Hollywood, AFF is “a weekend dedicated to elevating female voices and stories that inspire and empower a new generation of filmmakers and individuals.” Its previously announced screenings include Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman,” Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird,” and Rungano Nyoni’s “I Am Not A Witch.”
Athena Film Fest will be held February 22–25, 2018 at Barnard College in New York City. Tickets and passes are now on sale. Find more information and tickets on AFF’s site.
Check out all of the just-added films and events below.
FEATURES
9 to 5
Director: Colin Higgins
Writer: Colin Higgins, Patricia Resnick
This office satire about three female secretaries — Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin — who decide to get revenge on their tyrannical, sexist boss was an instant classic. Featuring a depiction of women agitators well ahead of their time and a score that doubled as anthem, 9 to 5’s impact has resonated for the thirty-plus years since its release and remains iconic in 2017’s #MeToo era.
North Country
Director: Niki Caro
Writer: Michael Seitzman
This classic feature, based on a true story, centers on Josey Aimes who takes a job at a local iron mine in Minnesota in 1975. She and other female miners endure unyielding harassment from male co-workers, ranging from verbal taunts to pornographic graffiti and physical abuse. Ignoring advice from family and friends, Josey files a ground-breaking lawsuit and wins a landmark decision that is still protecting women today. Directed by Niki Caro, North Country’s all-star cast includes Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand, Jeremy Renner, Woody Harrelson and Sissy Spacek.
Battle of the Sexes — OPENING NIGHT FILM
Director: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Writer: Simon Beaufoy
Emma Stone and Steve Carell star in this dramatic retelling of the legendary 1973 tennis match in which women’s tennis star Billie Jean King faced off against 55-year-old former Wimbledon champion, Bobby Riggs who boasted that he could beat any woman player. Riggs hyped the contest with a slew of misogynistic comments, including that “the best way to handle women is to keep them pregnant and barefoot.” In the period leading up to the match, King, a champion athlete and social justice pioneer, found herself beset with both personal and professional challenges as she sought to face her sexuality and fight for pay equity in tennis.
Patti Cake$ — Awardee Spotlight Film
Director and writer: Geremy Jasper
First-time writer/director Geremy Jasper showcases his music chops in this brash and bombastic story of unlikely rapper Patti “Killa P” Dombrowski. Breakout talent Danielle Macdonald plays Patti with the magnetism and stage presence of a seasoned musician, and is matched by the talents of the 2018 Athena Award winner Bridget Everett as Patti’s disillusioned mother, who missed her chance at stardom.
Thelma
Director: Joachim Trier
Writers: Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt
Writer/director Joachim Trier crafts a haunting tale of Thelma (Eili Harboe) a shy college student who has just left her religious family in a small town Norway and finds herself intensely drawn to her classmate Anja (Kaya Wilkins). But in a surprising twist to this coming of age tale, first love and self-discovery arrive with uncontrollable seizures and supernatural powers, that forces her to confront the terrifying implications of her powers.
The Post — CLOSING NIGHT FILM
In this thrilling drama directed by Steven Spielberg, the Washington Post’s Katharine Graham, the first female publisher of a major American newspaper (Meryl Streep) and Post editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) race to catch up with The New York Times’ publication of the Pentagon Papers, which expose a massive cover-up of government secrets about the Vietnam war that spans three decades and four U.S. presidents. This movie shows the importance of the free press to the life of a democracy, but it’s also a very personal story about a woman who was trained to be a wife who becomes the main character in her own story. The Post is a movie about a woman who finds her voice and saves democracy in the process.
DOCUMENTARIES
MANKILLER — CENTERPIECE FILM
Director: Valerie Red-Horse Mohl
Executive Producer: Gale Anne Hurd
MANKILLER examines the legacy of the formidable Wilma Mankiller, who defied all odds to become one of the most influential leaders in the United States. Mankiller overcame rampant sexism and personal challenges to emerge as the Cherokee Nation’s first woman Principal Chief in 1985. Through rare archival footage and intimate interviews with activists including Gloria Steinem, as well as with Wilma herself, MANKILLER gives us insight into how this remarkable woman successfully navigated through the minefield of bipartisan politics.
Miss Sharon Jones! — Awardee Spotlight Film
Director: Barbara Kopple
This documentary, directed by the two-time Oscar winner and 2018 Athena Honoree, Barbara Kopple, tells the stirring story of Sharon Jones, a true soul survivor who’s been called “the female James Brown”. The film follows Sharon Jones on an emotional journey as she battles cancer, struggles to keep her band together and mount a comeback show at New York’s Beacon Theater.
TELEVISION
Lifetime’s UnReal
Join us for the premiere of the first episode of UnREAL, season 3, Lifetime’s critically-acclaimed series from A+E Studios. UnREAL takes place behind the scenes of the fictional dating competition show Everlasting, as the show’s producers manipulate the contestants to get the footage they need. Caitlin FitzGerald (“Masters of Sex,” “Rectify”) takes the reins in Season 3 as Everlasting’s female “suitress,” Serena, who the producers try to keep in check as she works her way through a batch of eager male suitors, all the while exploring what it means to be a working woman and find love.
PANELS AND SPECIAL EVENTS
Master Class on Producing and Writing for Television: Alexa Junge — Sponsored by Stephens College
Come learn from Alexa Junge, a 1985 Barnard alumna, and accomplished showrunner, screenwriter, T.V. writer and producer whose credits include Friends, The West Wing, and Grace & Frankie.
Spotlight on Women and Stem — Sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Following the screening of Bombshell, the Hedy Lamarr Story, a panel of illustrious filmmakers will focus on the stories of powerful women in STEM fields, and discuss the challenges of bringing these rich, and sometimes complicated scientific stories to life on the big screen.
