Short Films By Women Exploring Many Topics Returns to Jamestown, April 21
By Judy Shuler
Films can entertain, they can offer escape. They can also move and inspire. At Lunafest, “All the movies will stir emotions and draw the viewer into a world they may not have known existed, but are glad for the opportunity to visit,” says Marcia Restivo, co-chair of the Jamestown Zonta committee sponsoring the showcase of short films. “It’s fantastically enjoyable!”
Each year the theme of the traveling collection of films by and about women varies, “and each year people who attend are moved.”
The 2022 Season features eight short films with a total running time of 80 minutes. Curators of the collection say this year’s films “challenge our perceptions about the world and our place in it, spark conversations, strengthen connections, and inspire us to be better versions of ourselves. Films feature bold individuals, powerful images, and impactful language. Some may contain content that is not suitable for children.”
Among the subjects explored this season are coping with isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic; how an immigrant dog walker finds connection in the hearts of the wealthy pets she cares for; how a 13-year-old girl designs and builds a mobile app to help kids stay connected to their incarcerated parents; what a first-generation Mexican-American high school student and her mom learn about people when cleaning their homes; a Bronx woman’s accidental social experiment that connects her with fellow New Yorkers who might otherwise forever remain strangers.
Also, a father and daughter who salvage their lives following a fire that destroys their home; an artist who submits her illustrations to The New Yorker after being frustrated with the lack of character diversity in cartoons, becoming the first Black woman cartoonist in the magazine’s near-century run; and an animated self-portrait of a nonbinary trans teen caught between the expectations of his Guatemalan immigrant family and his dreams of living happily ever after with his long-distance boyfriend.
This marks the ninth presentation of Lunafest by Jamestown Zonta, returning after a two-year COVID hiatus. Jamestown Community College is co-sponsor. Lunafest is scheduled 6-9 pm, Thursday, April 21, in Scharmann Theater, Jamestown Community College, Jamestown Campus, 525 Falconer St.
“The newly renovated Scharmann Theater is a perfect place to showcase these films,” Restivo says.
Opening reception will include guitar music by JCC instructor Bill Eckstrom, wine and refreshments.
Organizations around the country and in Canada can apply to use the film showcase as a fundraiser. Locally the $20 ticket price (JCC students with valid ID are free) supports Jamestown Zonta service projects.
Zonta Club of Jamestown service projects include “supplying local emergency rooms with clothing for women who have to surrender their items as forensic evidence or other reasons; scholarships to local students; donations to the Salvation Army Anew center, Girl Scouts, Boys & Girls Club; supplying birthing kits to developing countries; and many more,” according to Restivo.
Now an international organization, Zonta began in Buffalo in 1918 with five women who attended a Christmas party held by the all-male Kiwanis Club and discussed forming a club exclusively for executive women. Less than two months later they chartered the first Quota Club, changed to Zonta later that year. The Zonta Club of Jamestown was chartered on November 17th, 1921; in June it will observe its 100th anniversary.
Further information is available at zontajamestown.org, at lunafest.org and on the club’s Facebook page.
Caption: Lunafest is scheduled 6-9 pm, Thursday, April 21, in Scharmann Theater, Jamestown Community College, Jamestown Campus, 525 Falconer St.