Illuminating women's issues
Lunafest, a film festival that focuses on female filmmakers and areas of concern, to make its debut at UCLA

* Kate Stanhope, Bruin contributor (Contact)
* Published: Monday, March 5, 2007

This Tuesday, grab a nutritional Luna bar at the student union and then head a few floors up to the Ackerman Union second-floor lounge for some even greater food (for thought) at the 2007 UCLA Lunafest film festival.

Lunafest, coming to UCLA for the first time, is a nationwide women’s film festival working to bring awareness to female filmmakers and important female political and social issues. The eight short films featured run from four to 34 minutes and cover a wide array of topical women’s areas of concern, including breast cancer and body image.

“There is an organization within (Clif Bar, the company sponsoring Lunafest) that pulls films that represent or touch on female issues,” said fourth-year psychology student and Lunafest student coordinator Michelle Kuo. “From that, they have a set of films that they show at all the festivals.”

The documentary “Breached” follows a soon-to-be mother fighting her way across the border into the United States, and “Plum Flower” is a retrospective look back at the issue of female infanticide.

With these films, the festival aims to benefit the female community across over 100 U.S. destinations and around the world by educating and empowering women through discussion of gender.

While Lunafest is celebrating its sixth anniversary in aiding women across the country, Clif Bar co-sponsored the series with the Feminist Majority of Los Angeles to bring the festival to UCLA.

The on-campus chapter of FMLA works to raise the level of women’s participation in the ongoing women’s movement by partnering with events such as Lunafest.

“We definitely feel like it’s right up our alley: promoting positive images of women in the media who are making media with a positive women’s aspect in mind,” said FMLA organizer Olivia Ortiz.

One of the festival’s highlights is “Dear Talula,” a documentary following director Lori Benson through her struggle with breast cancer only 14 months after the birth of her daughter. Breast cancer is one of the most prominent issues of female concern in today’s society.

“It’s not really about breast cancer; it’s about a young woman’s life interrupted by breast cancer. It demystifies cancer,” Benson said. “It’s not as political as talking about personal empowerment. It’s about empowering yourself as a woman.”

The films for Lunafest are selected from a wide array of film festivals including Tribeca, the Los Angeles Short Film Festival and London, but the proceeds of event benefit are chosen locally.

While the Feb. 7 Los Angeles-wide Lunafest donated proceeds to the Children’s Health Environmental Coalition, the UCLA counterpart, which will be accepting monetary donations at the door, will be sending donations to Project Rishi and the Breast Cancer Fund.

The Breast Cancer Fund advocates for education and prevention of the disease, while Project Rishi is an on-campus group helping to renovate and update rural Indian communities to the 21st century.

Over six years, Lunafest as an organization has raised over $350,000 for the Breast Cancer Fund and other women’s nonprofits.

While it took the spark and hard work of Kuo, one of 14 Clif Bar student campus relations interns across the nation, to bring this event to UCLA, many believe the film festival will generate helpful and positive responses.

“The people (at the Los Angeles Lunafest) came out in awe; they were touched on so many different aspects of women’s issues,” Kuo said. “(I’m) excited about this.”

The charities benefited throughout each festival range with the films shown, but each Lunafest presents a forum to discuss women’s issues and brainstorm solutions. And, named after the health bar, the festival also works to promote women’s health.

Ortiz, for one, hopes the festival will spur not only positive output but proactive responses from the UCLA community.

“While we still celebrate women’s rights and freedoms, we have to remember that they are still under attack in 2007,” Ortiz said.

“It’s in our hands, and I hope the audience feels that after watching (the) films that they can go out and make their own feminist art and raise their own consciousness.”