Over the weekend, Megan and I attended the third annual Athena Film Festival, which was completely amazing. And–BONUS–we also got to meet blogger extraordinaire Carrie Nelson!
We saw several films, including Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and The Farm Midwives, Future Weather, The Girl, Middle of Nowhere, Women Aren’t Funny, and WONDER WOMEN! The Untold Story of American Superheroines. Megan also went to a couple of panel discussions: “In Her Voice: Women Directors Talk Directing” and “Exploring Barriers and Opportunities for Women Directors in Independent Film.”
And, guess what? AVA DUVERNAY HAS TOTALLY HEARD OF BITCH FLICKS.
We still need some time to properly review the films and panels, but in the meantime, here’s a quick roundup of some of our earlier reviews of movies that screened at Athena. Megan also did some live tweeting of the panels, so look for #AthenaFilmFest in our Twitter feed if you’re interested.
Brave
“Why I’m Excited About Pixar’s Brave & Its Kick-Ass Female Protagonist … Even If She Is Another Princess” by Megan Kearns
“Will Brave‘s Warrior Princess Merida Usher In a New Kind of Role Model for Girls?” by Megan Kearns
“The Princess Archetype In the Movies” by Laura A. Shamas
Beasts of the Southern Wild
“Beasts of the Southern Wild: Gender, Race and a Powerful Female Protagonist in the Most Buzzed About Film” by Megan Kearns
“Beasts of the Southern Wild: I didn’t get it.” by Robin Hitchcock
The Invisible War
“The Invisible War Takes on Sexual Assault in the Military” by Soraya Chemaly
Future Weather
“The Authentic Portrayal of Mother-Daughter Relationships in Future Weather“ by Stephanie Rogers