For many film festivals around the world, the show must go on.

The 11^th Annual Athena Film Festival goes virtual this year rather than its physical festival in New York. The festival still supports its mission purpose and expands its festival length online to the entire month of March, from 1^st-31^st.

The expansion decision came to highlight its many female-produced and directed films in celebration of Women’s History Month.

The 11^th Annual Athena Film Festival is a joint partnership between Barnard’s Athena Center for Leadership and Melissa Silverstein’s Women and Hollywood.

The festival opens tonight virtually with the U.S. premiere of Tracey Deer’s Beans.

The event designed new sections in response to challenging times that feature its documentaries. Each section screens a number of narrative documentaries and short films that intend to spark conversations about the current cultural climate. The categories are:

*Making it Happen: Women in STEM

*Tear it Down: Dismantling White Supremacy

*Discovery

*A Look At Health

*Resilience through Uncertainty

*Imagining a New Future

*Nothing About Us Without Us

*Come As You Are

LRM Online’s Gig Patta talked with Melissa Silverstein about this year’s Athena Film Festival going virtual and some of the films to definitely check out.

Melissa Silverstein is a writer and speaker. She is the founder and editor of Women and Hollywood that educates, advocates, and agitates for gender parity in the entertainment industry. Silverstein is the entertainment correspondent for WMC Live with Robin Morgan and selected as a film envoy for the American Film Showcase. She is the artistic director and co-founder of the Athena Film Festival.

Athena Film Festival starts today and runs through March 31. For the full schedule and purchase tickets, please click here.

Check out the full interview below. Let us know what you think.

Source: LRM Online Exclusive, Athena Film Festival