Is there a “celluloid ceiling?” In this take on the “glass” ceiling, women in the film and entertainment industry can only go so far. That last year's Best Director Oscar went to Kathryn Bigelow, the first woman ever to receive it, says much. So it was with great fanfare on Thursday night in Diana Hall of Barnard College that the brand new Athena Film Festival was launched, founded by Kathryn Kolbert and Melissa Silverstein, focusing on work by and about women and awarding women a newly minted prize for their achievements: Delia Ephron, Chris Hegedus, Tanya Hamilton, Abby Disney, Gini Reticker, Debra Zimmerman, Anne Thompson, Nancy Schreiber, Debra Martin Chase, Leslie Bennetts took the stage. One impressive, talented woman followed the one before, taking home a gorgeous crystal statue. 

As master of ceremonies Lynn Sherr pointed out: Athena is, after all, a Greek goddess, known for wisdom, intelligence, beauty, and eh, chastity.

Honorees were asked to speak about women who inspired them. While the names of mothers, mentors, and Hilary Clinton were invoked, Leslie Bennetts, Vanity Fair writer spoke about another Greek goddess, Arianna Huffington who that week had sold her unpaid blogger empire to AOL. Huffington had written a book about fearlessness, a necessary component of her personal reinvention. But, Bennetts also said that she did not admire Huffington's “business model.” True, as reported, nearly $300 million cash goes to her for this merger–a staggering fortune by anyone's estimation. One has to wonder at the moral imperative: why not throw some to the writers who write for nothing? That was on the tip of Bill Maher's lips when he had Arianna's face looming large on his show the following night. That question is on the tip of everyone's lips but no one wants to ask it; no one wants to burn that bridge, not even the fearless Maher! 
Where is the fearless soul who will acknowledge the elephant in the room?

Blogging -like much on the Internet –remains an enterprise like the wild, wild west, a frontier with few parameters. Leaving the stage, Bennetts told me that she has posted on Huffington, but only as a marketing tool, when she has needed to bring attention to a new book: “Why should I write for nothing when I can get paid?” she asked. 

At least this ceiling is gender-blind.

Regina Weinreich

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