Oscar-Nominated Documentary ‘Cutting Through Rocks’ Among Athena Film Festival Award Winners (Exclusive)

Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment The 2026 Athena Film Festival has selected this year’s honorees. Oscar-nominated documentary Cutting Through Rocks , directed by Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni, received the Jaya Award in partnership with the Illumine Service Foundation, a $10,000 prize given to a film focused on women’s leadership. Happy Birthday director Sarah Goher is being honored with the $25,000 Breakthrough Award in partnership with Netflix, given to a feature-length film directed by a first- or second-time filmmaker without a U.S. theatrical distribution deal. Related Stories Movies "It Was a Big Roll of the Dice": How a Small-Town Russian Schoolteacher Became an International Whistleblower -- and an Oscar Nominee Movies Oscars: How the Hair and Makeup Team Behind 'Kokuho' Brought Kabuki Theater's 400-Year-Old Aesthetics to Movie Screens The Syndrome writer Tamar Feinkind will receive the Chinonye Chukwu Emerging Writer Award in partnership with Christine A. Schantz, a $10,000 prize given to a feature-length writer who previously participated in an Athena Film Festival Writers Lab. Additionally, Aquanauts writer Rachel Caccese received the $20,000 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Athena List Development Grant, given to an Athena List finalist or winner for a script focused on a woman in a STEM-themed project. The festival will feature actors performing a live reading of Caccese’s script. And the festival is continuing its partnership with AMC Networks as part of its Future of Film initiative. “The Athena Film Festival’s support of new and emerging filmmakers is one of our greatest points of pride,” Athena Film Festival co-founder and artistic director Melissa Silverstein said in a statement. “Through grants, fellowships, and mentorship opportunities, we have been able t...