Traveling Lunafest, which celebrates women filmmakers and causes, comes to Wichita
Back in 1999, the Clif Bar company introduced Luna as the first nutrition bar for women. Their mission was to “champion women and create momentum to spark change.”
Change was certainly inspired in many ways, one of them being Lunafest, the world’s first traveling film festival featuring all-women filmmakers that started in 2001.
Lunafest is still going strong today. Through the years, Lunafest has featured 170 women filmmakers, raising more than $6 million for women’s causes. The festival now travels to more than 200 cities each season.
Lunafest will stop in Wichita on Saturday, June 26, at Naftzger Park, 601 E. Douglas. Gates open at 7:30 p.m., with films starting at 8:30. There will also be food trucks and a booze truck on site. The event is open to all genders. The recommended viewing age is 10. Eventgoers are welcome to bring lawn chairs, snacks and non-alcoholic drinks.
As is usual with Lunafest, proceeds benefit local causes. The Wichita event will benefit Girls on the Run Heart of Kansas, a nonprofit organization with a mission to “inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum that creatively integrates running.” More information on the group can be found at www.girlsontherunks.org.
The 2021 season of Lunafest features seven short films. The Girls on the Run group curated four to be shown in the Wichita program (total running time is about 65 minutes). Here are the films that will be shown (in no particular order):
“Knocking Down the Fences” by Meg Shutzer This documentary is a portrait of AJ (Ayanna Jeanne) Andrews, a professional softball player known for making spectacular diving catches in the outfield. In 2016, she was the first woman to be awarded a Rawlings Gold Glove, an award given to the best fielders in Major League Baseball. Andrews is a frequent guest on ESPN’s “The Undefeated.” (An Interview session with Shutzer and Andrews will also be shown.)
“Overexposed: Filming an Arctic Odyssey” by Holly Morris A behind-the-scenes look at the film team that captured the daring story of the Women’s Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition.
“Connection” by Tracy Nguyen-Chung and Ciara Lacy Documentary about indigenous young woman Autumn Harry, a lifelong angler who had never fished beyond the waters of her reservation — until she picked up a fly rod.
“Betye Saar: Taking Care of Business” by Christine Turner Documentary about legendary artist Betye Saar, who at age 93 has been pushing boundaries for 70 years, and still isn’t done fighting inequality. Inside her Los Angeles studio, Saar talks about collecting objects, African-American history, art as a “weapon” and making people think. (What a concept!)
Individual in-person tickets for Lunafest are $25 (so are virtual tickets; a link will be sent via email). Students (with ID) are $15. Group-of-four tickets are $80 and group-of-eight tickets are $150.
For more information and to order tickets go to https://girlsontherunks.org/lunafest.
This story was originally published June 24, 2021 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Traveling Lunafest, which celebrates women filmmakers and causes, comes to Wichita."