Festival dossier

Athena Film Festival

New York, United States · Est. 2010 · High structural score (80–100) for legitimacy and industry clout — not limited to Oscar-qualifying festivals

Tier ATrusted
New York, United States
100
Legitimacy Score

Should I submit?

Strong legitimacy signals

Tier A score for legitimacy and industry clout. Still confirm deadlines, fees, and categories on the festival site before paying.

  • Film Fest Alliance Member
  • 16 years of verifiable history
  • Physical screenings at Barnard College 3009 Broadway New York, NY 10027 United States

Overview

The Athena Film Festival is an annual event held at Barnard College in New York City that serves as the premier festival dedicated to celebrating and elevating women's leadership through storytelling. Notable for being the only festival specifically focused on women's leadership, it showcases narrative features, documentaries, and short films where a woman in a leadership role is central to the story, with 90% of screened films directed by women or nonbinary individuals. Its significance in the festival circuit stems from its unique dual mission of screening films and providing year-round creative development programs, including labs and funding opportunities, to advance a pipeline of diverse talent.

Last updated Aug 27, 2026

Legitimacy Analysis

Positive Indicators (+67 pts)

  • Film Fest Alliance Member
  • 16 years of verifiable history
  • Physical screenings at Barnard College 3009 Broadway New York, NY 10027 United States
  • Press/industry coverage
  • Wikipedia-verified (12 refs, 2 languages)
  • 3 verified pro signals
  • Verified trusted status
  • Legitimacy signals outweigh concerns (7 vs 0)

Red Flags (-0 pts)

No red flags found

Trust Signals

Positive Signals

  • PRESS_COVERAGE
  • Documented history with archived programs
  • WIKIDATA_VERIFIED

Festival Details

Founded

2010

Venue

Barnard College 3009 Broadway New York, NY 10027 United States

Screenings

Physical screenings confirmed

Award Categories

1

Visit Festival Website

Related Festivals in United States

Research

Live web research is off to control API cost. This shows cached scheduled research when available, plus analysis from our database.

Hard research (cheap model + thorough prompt) runs on a cron for suspicious festivals; a biweekly job refreshes others. No live API calls from the site.

At a glance

Legitimacy Score100/100
TierTier A
Reviews0
Community Reports0

How scoring works

Scores are calculated from structural indicators: accreditations, physical screenings, award category count, submission frequency, and acceptance rate. Higher scores reflect more verifiable legitimacy signals.

Filmmaker reviews

No community reviews yet. If you submitted here, your experience helps others avoid award mills.

Write a reviewOr report a problem →

Write a review

Review Athena Film Festival

Get Alerts

Get notified when Athena Film Festival's tier changes or new reports are filed.

See something wrong?

Filmmakers and festival teams can propose listing corrections or submit verified evidence. Verified evidence can change a tier, but it is weighed alongside every other flag on this listing.

Request a correction
Compare Athena Film Festival with another festival →