Upcoming film fests around the city

Sidney Butler, Staff Writer

As awards season comes to an end, New York City will offer an entirely new set of activities to scratch the pop-culture itch. If you were too busy to check out some of the film festivals this fall, then look forward to these upcoming spring film festivals.

The Athena Film Festival will take place on the Upper West Side. Sponsored by Indiewire’s Women and Hollywood blog and run by Barnard College, the Athena Film Festival shows the best of the best by women in film. Features this year include “Beyond the Lights,” “Obvious Child,” “Dear White People,” and many others. Now in its fifth year, the festival attracts groundbreaking women in the industry, like this year’s Lifetime Achievement award recipient Jodie Foster. The three-day event offers screenings of every genre, as well as panels with well-known producers, writers and directors. The festival runs from Feb. 5 to 8 on Barnard’s campus.

If you are looking for an artsy night out that is closer to home, NYU will hold its annual Fusion Film Festival from Feb. 26 to 28 at Cantor Film Center and the Tisch School of the Arts building. The Fusion Film Festival is NYU’s premiere film and television festival dedicated to celebrating women in film, television and new media. Past guests include Lena Dunham, Lucy Alibar and Paul Rudd. The festival includes film and television panels all weekend with inspiring women in the industry, concluding with a final student showcase.

The New Directors/New Films program, which is cosponsored by the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center, is more of a showcase than a festival, but nevertheless has launched the careers of revered filmmakers. Favorites like Richard Linklater, Spike Lee, Wim Wenders, Steven Spielberg and more were featured at New Directors/New Films earlier in their careers. The showcase specializes in films you haven’t heard of, but should know. This year’s exhibition, which runs from March 18 to 29 at MoMA and the Walter Reade Theater, includes Cannes favorite “The Tribe” and Sundance darling “Entertainment.”

Every year, the Tribeca Film Festival welcomes the international film community and general public. Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff created this indie showstopper as a way to revive Lower Manhattan in the wake of 9/11. Receiving roughly 6,000 submissions every year, the festival showcases the best of up-and-coming independent filmmakers. The festival will run from April 15 to April 26.

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Jan. 26 print edition. Email Sidney Butler at [email protected].