The goal of the festival is to highlight women as leaders in society, illustrated through nine short films by women filmmakers. The films range from animation to fictional drama, and cover topics such as women’s health, body image, relationships, cultural diversity and breaking barriers.
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The event will be hosted by Dayton Women’s Rights Alliance on Sunday, May 20 from 3-5 p.m. at the Neon movie theater, located at 130 E. Fifth Street in downtown Dayton.
Last year, the event sold out, so advance ticket purchases at the Neon are recommended.
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This is the 9th year the Dayton Women's Rights Alliance has hosted LUNAFEST. The Dayton Women's Rights Alliance works locally to promote and protect the rights of all women through education and activism.
All proceeds from LUNAFEST will go to the Ohio Domestic Violence Network and also to Chicken & Egg Pictures, a nonprofit organization that supports women nonfiction filmmakers whose storytelling catalyzes social change.
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To date, LUNAFEST, which is created and funded by LUNA, The Whole Nutrition Bar for Women, has raised more than $3 million for nonprofit organizations across the United States and Canada.
LUNAFEST FILMS
The event features nine short films:
BUTTERCUP
MEGAN BROTHERTON
Maggie needs her best friend today more than ever, but never expected she'd actually show up.
GIRLS LEVEL UP
ANNE EDGAR
A young Pakistani woman who grew up in a conservative Muslim neighborhood in the Middle East helps middle school girls in the Silicon Valley realize their dream of designing their own video game.
TOYS
AMANDA QUAID
In 1930s farm country, a father wants a son, but he gets a little girl. He tries to toughen her up by giving her toys intended for boys. His efforts backfire when she proves a little too capable for comfort.
FANNY PACK
UTTERA SINGH
A comedy about a young Indian-American woman who wants to follow her dreams and a fanny pack-clad Indian father who chases his daughter through an airport hoping that she will follow his.
JOY JOY NAILS
JOEY ALLY
In an upmarket Connecticut strip mall, Korean Sarah manages a Korean-owned nail salon with an ever cheerful, K-pop pumping, manicured iron fist. When Chinese Mia starts training as a manicurist, and looks to be stealing the boss’ son’s affections, Sarah gets her claws out — only to discover the terrible truth under the varnish at JOY JOY NAILS.
YOURS SINCERELY, LOIS WEBER
SVETLANA CVETKO
A tribute to the highest-paid silent film director at Universal Studios in 1916.
JESSZILLA
EMILY SHESKIN
Jesselyn “Jesszilla” Silva is serious about boxing, and at 10 years old trains seriously with dreams of becoming a professional fighter. Her father, Pedro, finds himself caught in between supporting her dream and worrying about her future as she tries to master a combat sport.
WAITING FOR HASSANA
IFUNANYA MADUKA
In 2014, the extremist organization, Boko Haram, kidnapped 276 teenage girls from a town in northeastern Nigeria. WAITING FOR HASSANA is a harrowing first-person account of one girl’s escape from captivity and a heart-wrenching lament for her closest friend Hassana — one of the many girls still unaccounted for...
LAST SUMMER, IN THE GARDEN
BEKKY O'NEIL
Last summer, in the garden recounts one woman’s journey through a joyful, fearful time of death and rebirth. Last summer, in the garden is featured in the touring program The 18th Annual Animation Show of Shows.
Want to go?
WHAT: 9th annual LUNAFEST
WHERE: 130 E. Fifth St., Dayton
WHEN: Sunday, May 20, from 3 to 5 p.m.
TICKETS: $10 at The Neon ($5 for students)
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