The 10th annual LunaFest film festival will celebrate Women’s History Month. The film festival will be shown by the Women’s Resource Center at the Bama Theatre on Thursday at 7 p.m.
LunaFest is funded by LUNA, maker of the Whole Nutrition Bar for Women, to raise awareness on issues women face. All proceeds raised by the event go to local charities and the Breast Cancer Foundation.
The film festival consists of short films lasting from three to five minutes each that have been selected from more than 250 submissions. Each film covers a topic relating to what it means to be a woman in current society, with genres ranging from documentaries to animation.
Kit Pearce, leadership and education programming coordinator for the Women’s Resource Center, said, “[This event] is a great way for people to become educated on women’s issues and a great way for the Tuscaloosa community to be exposed to women in film and what issues women face today.”
LunaFest’s success has allowed the event to grow from a small annual event to one that has more than 150 festivals every filming season. The film festival has raised more than $570,000 for multiple women’s non-profit organizations in addition to promoting awareness for women and their stories.
Pearce said the director of the Women’s Resource Center discovered LunaFest and thought it was a wonderful opportunity to be a host.
The University is the only place in the state of Alabama to host LunaFest. This is the University’s fifth year to be a host and additional festivities have been planned to accompany the event. At 6:30 p.m. there will be a silent auction fundraiser consisting of 10 to 15 items. Among the items will be two footballs signed by the 2010 Crimson Tide football team, paintings, a spa package, a golf package and gift cards to restaurants.
A free reception will precede the film showing. Kobe Japanese Steakhouse will be providing sushi and Publix will be providing an assortment of desserts. During the reception, gymnastic team head coach Sarah Patterson will give a speech.
The film screenings start at 7 p.m. and last approximately two hours. This year’s films will include “The Translator,” in which a foreign film translator discovers her story on the subway; “Getting a Grip,” a documentary on Fannie Barnes, the first woman cable car operator; and “Thembi’s Diary,” a 19-old’s audio diary of her struggle with AIDS.
In the past, the event has been well attended and the Women’s Resource Center said they have already sold 500 tickets for this year. Student tickets are $12, faculty and staff are $18, and general admission is $20.
“LunaFest is really interesting – it connects to every organization on campus and showcases women across the world,” said Jessi Hitchins, assistant director of the Women’s Resource Center. “Both education and student affairs work together to host LunaFest.”
The Women’s Resource Center provides the UA community with outreach, service and ways to support women. The center also offers free counseling services for those affected by domestic violence or sexual assault.
“I think being able to reach out to different sponsors and seeing everyone support [LunaFest] has made being the event coordinating exciting,” Pearce said.
For more information on LunaFest or Women’s Resource Center call 348-5040.
If You Go
What: LunaFest Film Festival
Where: Bama Theatre
When: Tonight at 7 p.m
