Set to run March 1-31, this year’s Athena Film Festival (AFF) is going digital due to COVID-19. “In a year like no other, we’re digging deeper,” a newly released trailer from AFF promises.
Featuring clips from titles set to screen at the 11th annual edition of the fest, the spot encourages viewers to “find resilience,” “imagine a new future,” “see yourself,” and “tear it down.”
Tracey Deer’s “Beans,” a coming-of-age drama about a 12-year-old Mohawk girl set against the backdrop of the 1990 Oka Crisis, is opening AFF 2021. The film is making its U.S. premiere at the fest.
Erika Cohn’s “Belly of the Beast” and Shalini Kantayya’s “Coded Bias” are also among the titles set to screen. The former investigates modern-day eugenics and reproductive injustice in California prisons — and the fight to put an end to it, and the latter explores racial bias in facial recognition algorithms.
The fest will also include in-depth conversations with filmmakers and industry experts, a series of programs that support the pipeline of women creatives, and a variety of other events.
AFF is reserving 10 press passes for film critics from traditionally underrepresented demographics. To request a pass, please complete this submission form.
Passes for the fest are sold-out this year, but there are still tickets available. There’s also a waiting list for passes that you can sign up for.
Melissa Silverstein, Women and Hollywood’s Founder and Publisher, is a co-founder of AFF and its Artistic Director.
