LUNAFEST, Hosted By Lewis County AAUW, Goes Virtual

Posted

The Lewis County American Association of University Women (AAUW) is hosting its fourth annual LUNAFEST, a film festival featuring several films created by women filmmakers, virtually this year. 

Cathy Cavness, one of the co-chairs of Lewis County AAUW said what she enjoys most about LUNAFEST every year is the conversations she has with others after the showing the films.

LUNAFEST is an international touring film festival that is sponsored by the LUNA BAR Company with the goal of granting a wider audience to award-winning films created by and about women. The films are recommended for ages 14 and up for some of the more edgy subject matter. 

“It’s an international juried film festival with films by women from all over the world and the films are very thought-provoking. I’m hoping that later in the summer when more people can gather, we will be able to rewatch them together in small groups,” said Cavness.

LUNAFEST will be be held on Saturday, May 30, and Sunday, May 31 — the films will be available for a 24-hour window from 9 a.m. on Saturday to 9 a.m. on Sunday. After the purchase of the $5 ticket, a streaming link and a password to access the films will be sent and the viewer can watch them as many times as they please within the 24-hour window.

Every year, of the money raised in ticket sales, 80 percent is donated to the Lewis County Hope Alliance and the Lewis County AAUW contributes the other 20 percent to their scholarship program. 

“We’ve been able to award about $15,000 in scholarships to help women further their education from the money raised in ticket sales from the last three years,” said Cavness.



Seven short films will be shown as a part of LUNAFEST this year, lasting a total of 97 minutes. 

“A sampling of this year’s film subjects includes “Ballet After Dark,” which finds ways of healing after experiencing trauma; “Purl,” an animated PIXAR film which shows the realities of discrimination and acceptance of women in a male-dominated work culture; and “Lady Parts,” which gives a hard look at sexual harassment,” stated the press release from the Lewis County AAUW.

This year’s participants can watch the films at home from their computer, phone or tablet. In years past LUNAFEST was held at the Fox Theatre, the Chehalis Theater and Centralia College, drawing about 175 to 200 people, Cavness said.

“The films are diverse and the subjects, locations and content are eye-opening. They are poignant, often humorous, and many times provocative. This is a very special and unique event for the women — and men — of Lewis County,” the press release stated.

Those interested in attending the virtual LUNAFEST can purchase tickets at  https://lewiscounty-wa.aauw.net/. The link and password to the films will be emailed to the participant early in the morning on Saturday, May 30, and can be viewed at the participant’s convenience for 24 hours.