LUNAFEST Goes Virtual To Showcase Women's Films And Raise Money

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — It's not too late to sign up to watch LUNAFEST, an annual traveling film festival that champions female filmmakers. This year, due to COVID-19, the film fest, put on by the Luna Bar company annually since 2000, has gone virtual. And the best news is one paid admission enables more than one person to catch all of the amazing films, said Kelly Fogarty of Soroptimist International of Manhattan Beach, which puts on the local edition. LUNAFEST will be held Saturday, June 27 from 9 a.m. until the following morning at 9.

Until now, the Manhattan Beach club would present the film festival inside the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. And one person per ticket was the price of admission. Now an admission, which costs $20, allows that ticket to be used to watch the films on Vimeo within a 24-hour period. Ticket holders will receive an email with a link and password for the Vimeo web page.

"We are excited to offer this!" Fogarty told Manhattan Beach Patch. "Although we will miss getting together, we know that this virtual format extends the reach to anyone, including those who may be too far away to come to the South Bay. And, yes, people in the same household can watch together on the same ticket."

LUNAFEST features short films from around the globe that feature a woman's perspective for a running time of 90 minutes overall. The film package is then offered to nonprofit groups who present them and then forward a donation from the profits made to a foundation that supports women in film. For Soroptimist International of Manhattan Beach the money raised allows "us to expand the reach of our Dream programs: 'Live Your Dream Education and Training Awards,'" which are given to women who are single heads of household and who are enrolled in college or vocational training to improve their job prospects; and "the 'Dream It, Be It' program, a workshop for teen girls throughout the South Bay to help them focus on goals setting and how to overcome obstacles."

Said Fogarty, "Each year our loyal audience has been returning because the films are amazing. Last year two of the filmmakers came and did a Q&A session with our group to compare their two films from the viewpoint of growing up in South L.A. The impact on me personally has been huge and I have been thinking of them with the current civil rights issues. I have also seen this year's films already and look forward to seeing them again. One of the filmmakers, Erin Rye, had agreed to appear at our event until the COVID isolation orders came in. Her film is one of my favorites this year. It's called 'Lady Parts' and it shows the sexism that women still face in the entertainment industry, with a hilarious and important take on the subject."

Tickets for LUNAFEST are available online.