LunaFest traveling film festival was ‘a great celebration of x-chromosomes’

LunaFest, a traveling film festival, made its annual appearance at the Student Union theater on Wednesday to honor artistic accomplishments of women in the film industry. The event featured nine short films, all made by women, that addressed various issues of everyday life.

Brittnie Carrier, a 4th-semester psychology and English double major, hosted the event. She explained how each film celebrated, noticed and appreciated the talent of women.  According to LunaFest, these nine films told stories that only women could tell. 

To kick off the festival, two students recited poems that dealt with in-depth, life-changing issues that impact the lives of women on a daily basis.  Katie Hires, a 4th-semester English major, read a poem about a woman’s thought process as she awaits the results of a pregnancy test.  Pamela Achuka, a 4th-semester speech language and hearing sciences major, read a poem that addressed the stigmas African-American women face within society.

“Blank Canvas,” a film that was approximately three minutes in length, shared the story of a woman with cancer who, despite having lost her hair, refuses to let her illness change her perception of her beauty.  She uses her bald head as a canvas to display her henna art.  “Chalk,” clocking in at close to 20 minutes, depicted the experiences of an adolescent girl as she endured puberty while at an elite gymnastics camp.                                                                               

“I think it’s important to support independent artists. Only a few people have the rare opportunity to express themselves and actually reach out to people,” said Brenna Harvey, a 2nd-year sociology graduate student. “This is especially true for women and anyone who is speaking from a marginalized perspective.”

“Georgena Terry” focused on a woman who designed bicycles to fit the female body.  “Self-Portrait With Cows Going Home and Other Works” depicted protagonist Sylvia Placy’s obsession with photography.  Animated shorts depicting the aesthetic pleasure of the experience of a bathhouse gave a different twist to appreciating femininity.  

“It was outstanding; a great celebration of x-chromosomes,” said Hilarie Jones, a nurse practitioner at Student Health Services.