The Athena Film Festival held annually at Barnard College will be having its 16th annual showcase March 6-8, 2026. To get us all in the spirit of the upcoming 2026 festival the announcement of the short films in this years festival has been made with the features list of films scheduled to be released in the coming new year.
The 16th annual festival is a partnership between Barnard College and Women and Hollywood. Each year, the festival showcases narrative features, documentaries, and short films; in-depth conversations with filmmakers and thought leaders; and a wide variety of events focused on amplifying women's leadership through storytelling.
"In 2026, AFF will proudly celebrate its sixteenth year. It's a moment to reflect on how the stories we've shared over the past sixteen years have driven change and fostered growth," said Melissa Silverstein, Artistic Director and Co-Founder of AFF. "AFF continues to elevate narratives that highlight women's leadership, and this year's lineup will spark vital dialogue — shining a light on diverse voices whose stories are essential to progress and transformation."
"Barnard has long been a place where women's voices are nurtured, challenged, and celebrated," said Nikki Youngblood Giles, Barnard College Assistant Vice President and Vice Dean of the College – Campus Life and Student Experience. "This year's AFF lineup offers students and audiences alike the chance to engage with films that broaden perspectives and inspire action."
The 2026 shorts will be presented in three thematic blocks: "Refusal," "Small Battles," and "Make/Believe." A full list of AFF's 2026 short films is below:
Block 1: Refusal
This selection of short films centers women with a resounding desire for change. Their calls for justice echo through a quiet church in the Dutch South and wash up on the shores of Sierra Leone, urging audiences to keep fighting.
They Call Me The Tattoo Witch
United States
Director, Writer, Producer: Lindsay Nyman
Documentary
In Hanoi, Vietnam, tattoo artist Tran Ngoc specializes in the rare and challenging art of tattooing over scars. Despite the social stigma surrounding tattoos in Vietnam, Ngoc empowers her clients, including breast cancer survivors and women with self-harm scars, to reclaim their bodies, demonstrating that her work is a profound act of compassion and resilience.
Fighting Giants
United States, Sierra Leone
Director, Writer, Producer: Oluwaseun Babalola
Producer: Damilola Aleje
Drama
Inspired by true events, a mother and daughter confront their relationship with grief during a surreal visit back to Freetown, Sierra Leone.
in a MOMENT [?? ????]
Palestine, Afghanistan
Director, Writer: Asil Majed Alwadiya
Documentary
Dreams in Gaza are being shattered just like homes, with only a MOMENT separating us from death. One blade threatens everyone, and one hand reaches out to save the family. Between beauty and flames, art and destruction, the short documentary in a MOMENT by Asil Majed Alwadiya portrays Khawla's life during the war and her adaptation to the harsh conditions imposed on her.
Naaz
United States, Canada
Director, Writer, Producer: Bakhtawar Tagar
Documentary
In a rural Pakistani village where women face exploitative and dismissive healthcare, retired doctor Farah Naz runs the only clinic offering compassionate, affordable treatment. But her mission is threatened from all sides: a crumbling facility with no reliable electricity, personal struggles, and a public infrastructure that seems designed to fail its most vulnerable. As the walls close in, Dr. Naz must decide what she's willing to sacrifice to continue serving the women who have nowhere else to turn.
The Rebirth
United States
Director, Writer, Producer: Connie Shi
Producers: Yuki Maekawa-Ledbetter, Justine Sweetman, Stephanie Bonner
Executive Producers: Jonathan Olson, Zach Sullivan
Supernatural, Thriller
The Rebirth is a supernatural thriller about a woman who takes a black market abortion pill that gives her an unexpected side effect...
Hilda O. vs. The State of New York
United States
Directors, Producers: Alison Cornyn, Heather Greer
Documentary, Drama
The film follows 81-year-old Hilda O. between deposition and court judgment as she seeks justice for the sexual abuse she endured at the NY State Training School for Girls in 1958-9.
Barlebas
Belgium, Netherlands
Director, Writer: Malu Janssen
Producer: Janneke Doolaard
Drama, Experimental, Musical
In 1595, a woman accused of witchcraft refuses to be silenced, leaving her free spirit and powerful voice to inspire a new generation. Barlebas depicts the last days in the life of the headstrong woman Heylken (28). She is accused of witchcraft, just as she was about to leave her village for good. While Heylken never gets to leave, she inspires young girl Griet (12) with her free spirit and powerful voice. An experimental musical period drama, set in 1595 and centered on the persecution of witches in the Dutch South.
Block 2: Small Battles
Overbearing bosses. Important missed calls. Awkward family reunions. Small battles crop up daily. Both unique and familiar, the battles that center these seven shorts offer a kaleidoscopic view of how women can discover and assert their personhood in everyday life.
Raccoon Soup
United States
Director, Writer: Janie Gentry
Producers: Emma Barrett, Griffin Deitrick
Comedy
In Arkansas 1973, a rebellious waitress battles sexism, chaos, and an increasingly unhinged diner shift, all to prove she's got what it takes to receive a sponsorship to a state knife throwing championship. When things reach a boiling point, she takes drastic action, creating history in Searcy County.
CANDY GIRL
United States
Director, Writer, Producer: Caitlyn Johnson
Writer: Deja Harrell
Producers: Bre J Appiah, Nada Bedair
Narrative
Caity leads a double life as a film student by day and an elusive drug dealer by night. When tragedy strikes, her two worlds begin to bleed together.
Miss
United States
Director: Alexandra Stergiou
Writers: Sophie Delaney, Jessica Uhler
Producer: Margaux Lee
Executive Producer: Alexandra Byer
Drama, Comedy
It's been four days since Sophie came out as trans to her partner Jess. Seeking a place away from it all for Sophie to take her first steps out in the air as a woman, Miss finds them at a gas station outside of the city. Based on true events.
Think of Something Beautiful
Germany
Directors, Writers: Vo Thi Mai Trang, Nadja Ißler
Producer: University for Television and Film Munich
Executive Producers: Annelie Boros, Viktor Schimpf
Hybrid Documentary
Through photography, poetry, performance art and mixed-martial arts the protagonist Fungi is constantly looking for ways to freely express herself. In contrast, her mother runs her own shop maintaining routine and stability. Their encounters reveal how different these women have become while both are longing to always find a way back to each other. Their love gives them curiosity and strength to explore each other's world from tender eyes.
Sorry I Missed Your Call
United States
Director, Writer, Producer: Hae Ji Cho
Producer: Kevin Alcántar
Executive Producers: Cary McQueen, Chris Hyde
Drama, Animation
Sorry I Missed Your Call follows the emotional turmoil of a granddaughter caretaking for her grandmother as she develops Alzheimer's.
The Embrace
United Kingdom
Director, Producer: John Owens
Documentary
When the world is crumbling, where to find hope? The Embrace follows 50-year-old Argentine tango teacher Carolina Pirotta as her precariously-built world is upended by the election of a right wing populist. Offering an intimate lens on a life lived amid economic turmoil, this film dives into a world of tango that challenges tradition – examining issues of power, resistance and resilience in the process. Through tracing Carolina's steps, it also takes the audience on a poetic journey from the neon-drenched dancehalls and protest-packed streets of Buenos Aires to the sunset-bathed mountains of Patagonia.
Birthday Party (or the Revenge of the Stepdaughter) [Fiesta de Cumpleaños (O la Venganza de la Hijastra)]
Chile
Director, Writer: Anastasia Ayazi
Producer: Samuel Buzeta, Josefina Laban, Fer González
Narrative
When Carolina (7) wades through her novel family's frenzied reunion in hopes of gifting her new stepfather a birthday card, she learns that to the party's adults, she is little more than decoration.
Block 3: MAKE/BELIEVE
It is often said that every great dream begins with a dreamer — but what does dreaming mean in a world as turbulent as our own? In this program, a Sylvia Plath–coded animated meditation on motherhood sits alongside the rebellious joy of an octogenarian lesbian party girl. Together, these shorts spotlight women who lead by turning their private fantasies into blueprints for collective change.
Because Today is Saturday [Porque hoje é Sábado]
Portugal, France, Spain
Director, Writer: Alice Eça Guimarães
Producers: Vanessa Ventura, Nuno Amorim, Claire Beffa, Sidonie Garnier, Carlota Pou, Bruno Simões
Family, Drama
It's Saturday, and a woman struggles with the difficulty of reconciling her home life and her need to escape.
Goodnight
United States
Director, Writer: Isabel Pask
Writer: Annie Fox
Producers: Catherine Gildea, Iris Beaumier, Annie Fox, Isabel Pask, Brenna Power, John Way
Executive Producer: Elliott Whitton
Drama
A lonely hospice nurse revisits the comfort and fear of childhood when she enlists a babysitter to take care of her for the night.
Naudline Pierre: A Place Other Than Here
United States
Director, Producer: Haimy Assefa
Producers: Nick Ravich, Andrea Chung
Executive Producer: Tina Kukielski
Documentary, Art, Biography
Whether painting in her Brooklyn studio or roaming amidst the medieval artworks at The Met Cloisters, artist Naudline Pierre reframes traditional representations of religion and spirituality, finding freedom in a world of her own making — where the airborne and earthbound coexist and cooperate.
Tessitura
United States
Directors, Producers: Lydia Cornett, Brit Fryer
Executive Producers: Opal H. Bennett, Kiyoko McCrae, Chris White, Erika Dilday, Jenni Wolfson
Documentary, Music
Blending character portraits with historical context, Tessitura explores how voice and gender are continuously reformulated in opera.
Beyond [Más Allá]
Canada, Venezuela, United States, Colombia
Director, Writer, Producer: Bettina López Mendoza
Producer: Marilyne LaMontagne
Drama
A young girl, who's given up her childhood to survive crossing the treacherous Darien Gap, discovers a portal to a magical world where she learns to be a kid again.
Old Girl in a Tutu: Susan Rennie Disrupts Art History
United States
Director, Writer, Producer: Cheri Gaulke
Writer: Sue Maberry
Documentary|
When feminist scholar Susan Rennie retired from academia, she returned to her first love – photography. The film focuses on a gallery showcase of Rennie's delightful art with unfiltered commentary from the artist, as well as words from exhibition curator Kirsten Grimstad. With humor and wit, Rennie's photographic interventions offer a feminist critique of the conventional canon of art history, and an unabashed embrace of her elder, queer identity. The results are juicy, eye-opening, and often hilarious.
Thanks, Babs!
United States
Directors, Writers, Producers: Jen Rainin, Rivkah Beth Medow
Writer: Kristina Motwani
Documentary, Comedy
Meet Babs, an optimistic octogenarian speed-racing through life, one five-year plan at a time.
Keep up with the festival and look for a limited time holiday sale that ends December 31 of passes for the upcoming festival in March by clicking through to their website:
https://athenafilmfestival.com