The 18th annual LUNAFEST will bring winners from Sundance, AFI Fest, and SxSW to Oswego Saturday, Feb. 9!
It may be awards season for Hollywood blockbusters, but this year some of the best films hitting the indie circuit are coming straight to Oswego at the Village Hall.
The Oswego Cultural Arts Commission celebrates women in the arts with the return of LUNAFEST, a fundraising film festival of shorts by and about women.
This year’s films cover topics such as health, body image, racism, immigration, death, and the pursuit of individuals’ passion. Films include:
• Flip the Record, 2017, director Marie Jamora. Using her older brother’s turntable on the sly, a Fililpino-American teen discovers her own identity. Winner of the Urban World Film Festival and St. Louis International Film Festival.
• The Final Show, 2016, director Dana Nachman. A woman who has lived a long life full of love and loss has to decide based on all that she’s learned who to take along to eternity.
• My Immigrant Story, 2017, director Yuriko Gamo Romer. The hot-button issue of immigration inspired the director to reflect on her own path to American citizenship, narrating over selections from her family’s home movies.
• War Paint, 2018, director Katrelle N. Kindred. A young black girl in South Los Angeles experiences a series of events that intersects racism and sexism during the Fourth of July Independence Day holiday. Winner of the AFI Fest and nominee at Sundance Film Festival.
• Drummer Girl, 2017, director Sophie Hexter. Losing her eyesight does not stop a prodigious rock n’ rock drummer from pursuing her passion.
• Are We Good Parents?, 2018, director Bola Ogun. When a couple’s 14-year-old daughter says she’s going to her first dance with her classmate, they question their preconceived notions of her sexuality and their openness as parents. Screened at SxSW Film Festival.
• Today, Tomorrow, Yesterday, 2018, director Jackie Files. A young woman finds her old diaries while moving out of her childhood bedroom and learns to make peace with herself.
• Ur Dead to Me, 2017, director Yonoko Li. A dried-flower delivery woman gets a glimpse into the cycles of love and loss.
Films featured in LUNAFEST are not rated, however, organizers suggest that this year’s lineup will be most suited to viewers ages 13 and up.
Advanced tickets to this year’s LUNAFEST are $20 and can be purchased at lunafest.org, or from the Facebook event page.
Tickets can be purchased at the door for $25, subject to availability. In addition to the films, the festival offers artisan vendors, light snacks and live music courtesy of Fox River Academy.
All proceeds from LUNAFEST will benefit Mutual Ground in its mission to create a community free of domestic and sexual violence through its shelter and education programs, as well as Chicken & Egg Pictures, a national nonprofit organization that supports women nonfiction filmmakers whose artful and innovative storytelling catalyzes social change.
—LUNAFEST