Nina Shaw, one of the founding members of Time’s Up, will be honored at the 2019 Athena Film Festival, along with writer, director, and actress Desiree Akhavan and Cameron Bailey, co-head of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
The ninth annual festival, co-founded by the Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College and Women and Hollywood, will take place February 28 to March 3, 2019, at Barnard College in New York City.
The Athena Film Festival celebrates the leadership and creative accomplishments of trailblazers in the entertainment industry. The festival showcases films that tell the extraordinary stories of fierce and fearless women leaders from all walks of life. Stories of ambition, courage, and resilience amplify the voices and stories of strong, bold women, curating a public discourse on gender equality, and changing the cultural conventions surrounding leadership.
Nina Shaw, a graduate of Barnard College ’76 and Columbia University Law School ’79, is a founding partner at Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein & Lezcano law firm. She has worked in the industry as a talent attorney for over 40 years with a focus on television, motion picture, and live stage areas. She received the Women in Film Crystal Award in 2005, has appeared on The Hollywood Reporter’s “Women in Entertainment Power 100” list multiple times, and was given Essence Magazine’s Black Women in Hollywood Power Award in 2016. A long-standing advocate for women’s empowerment and young girls’ education, Nina is one of the founding members of Time’s Up.
Cameron Bailey was recently named the co-head of the Toronto Film Festival (TIFF) after working as its artistic director since 2012. A former film critic, Bailey has always had an appreciation for diversity and equality in film. He joined the festival in 1990 as a programmer before becoming the festival’s co-director and later its artistic director. During his tenure, TIFF has brought many women filmmakers into the international spotlight.
Desiree Akhavan is an actress, writer, and director. She wrote, directed, and starred in her theatrical debut, “Appropriate Behavior,” which was nominated for Best First Screenplay at the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards. She also writes, directs, and stars in her series, “The Bisexual,” currently airing on Hulu. Her critically acclaimed film, “The Miseducation of Cameron Post,” which she directed and wrote, and stars Chloë Grace Moretz, won the Grand Jury prize at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival; the film has gained praise as a timely coming-of-age story for queer youth in America.
Previous Athena Film Festival awardees include Amma Asante; Ava DuVernay; Eve Ensler; Greta Gerwig ’06; Diablo Cody; Kasi Lemmons; Karyn Kusama; Debra Martin Chase; Dee Rees; Nekisa Cooper; Patricia Riggen; Callie Khouri; Gina Prince-Bythewood; and Julie Taymor. Previous Leading Man awardees include Paul Feig, David Oyelowo, and J.J. Abrams P’22. Last year, Bridget Everett was honored as the Inaugural Athena Breakthrough Award winner.