Weber State’s second annual Lunafest, a short-film festival and fundraiser sponsored by Luna Bars, highlighted women’s issues in everyday life.
In honor of Women’s History month, Lunafest is meant to show support and celebration to women filmmakers everywhere. Lunafest’s mission statement is to “Celebrate and inspire women through the art of film and community fundraising.”
The festival featured nine movies ranging from four to fifteen minutes in length The films aimed to support women filmmakers and raise awareness on women’s issues such as reproductive rights, troubles conceiving, age, sexuality and humor. Lunafest brought 80 attendees to the Wildcat Theater to view the films.
The proceeds of the night went to nonprofit organizations such as Safe@Weber, The Women’s Center, survivor programs and the Breast Cancer Fund. At intermission, Luna fest had collected $1,200 in donations.
After adding all of the online donations, the final amount raised from the night was estimated to be around $2,000.
One film followed a young girl’s journey of living in a refugee camp. Another highlighted how no one is ever too old try something new.
Attendee Marilee Rohan said, “They’re all really good. It’s hard to say which is a favorite. They’re all different and have different messages.” Rohan especially enjoyed the last film about a group of older women in a synchronized swim class, because this matched her demographic. Rohan stated, “I really liked the last one. I was like, I can do something new at 60 too!”
When discussing the reasons for holding Lunafest, Stephanie McClure, the director of the Women’s center stated, “The point of this is building community and everything that women have accomplished in their community together and to support each other. This is a fundraiser for services but we really do hope that we are able to try to celebrate the awesome things that are happening in women’s lives across the world. It’s not very often that you get to go to an event that solely focused on women and how powerful women are.”
For more information about Lunafest and its filmmakers visit lunafest.org.
