The Athena Film Festival has announced the participants for its inaugural Athena IRIS Screenwriting Lab. The Athena IRIS Lab, “whose goal is to develop feature-length narrative scripts with bold and courageous female characters,” will welcome Briana Belser (“Victory Drive”), Oonagh Kearney (“Proserpina”), Erin Sanger (“Girl Show”), and Rashmi Singh (“The Divide”).
According to a festival press release, the Lab will provide the screenwriters with expert mentorship. This year’s mentors are film professor and screenwriter/director Hilary Brougher (“The Sticky Fingers of Time,” “Stephanie Daley”); arts professor and screenwriter Shinho Lee (“The Chaser,” “My Mighty Princess”); lecturer and screenwriter/director/producer Afia Nathaniel (“Dukhtar”); and filmmaker Susanna Styron (“Shadrach,” “9/12: From Chaos to Community”).
Women and Hollywood’s Founder and Publisher, Melissa Silverstein, co-founded the Athena Film Festival and serves as its artistic director. Discussing the Athena IRIS Lab, she said, “The Athena Film Festival is committed to developing the next generation of talented screenwriters who are creating scripts with female leaders at their center. By partnering with IRIS we can enable women to hone their voices and craft their stories. We look forward to a successful program this year.”
IRIS co-founder Nitza Wilon added, “The Athena Film Festival has given space and focus to women’s solidarity by building this incredible platform for female protagonists. We’re elated to be part of this pivotal work.”
Established in 2013, IRIS strives “to amplify the female voice through narrative film.” Its founders — Wilon, Elizabeth Kaiden, and Kyle Ann Stokes — created The Writers Lab to develop screenplays from women over 40. It is co-produced by New York Women in Film & Television and funded by Meryl Streep.
The Athena Film Festival is an annual event honoring “courageous and audacious women in real life and the fictional world,” and includes feature films, documentaries, and shorts. This year’s edition will be held February 9–12 at Barnard College in New York City.
Visit the festival’s website to purchase festival tickets and passes, or to find out more information.
