For the last 15 years the University of Idaho Women’s Center has put on LUNAFEST.
LUNAFEST is a national film festival put on by the nutrition bar company, Luna, to showcase and empower women in film from around the world. The festival was first started in 2001.
On Tuesday night community members gathered at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre for the annual festival. Before the festival started, community members gathered for a reception that included snacks and chances to win raffle prizes.
Moscow community member Amy Thorson said she loved the snacks.
“Out of all the films, Amy’s favorite was the snacks,” Kayla Bordelon, Amy’s friend joked.
As it got closer to the time of the screening, the theater began to fill up until most of the center rows were full. The audience ranged in age from children to older members of the community.
UI first year student Selma Fairley said she was most looking forward to gaining new perspectives as well as watching the film about the water crisis and issues regarding the Dakota Access Pipeline. This documentary was directed by a Washington State University student and was played first.
Fairley was invited to the event by her friend Maya Salsbury, a UI third year student. Salsbury’s mother is the director of the Women’s Center, Lysa Salsbury, so she finds herself attending or volunteering at most, if not all, of their events. She said she has attended LUNAFEST before and always looks forward to seeing the films.
“I know that there’s a lot of films that I haven’t seen before that are being played so I’m just kind of excited to see them all in general,” Maya Salsbury said. “I think they’re a lot of fun to watch. They’re pretty informative.”
Jackie Sedano, the program coordinator of the Women’s Center, planned this year’s festival. This is her fifth year involved in LUNAFEST.
“I actually started off working for the Women’s Center as a work study when I was here in my undergrad,” Sedano said. “So I actually started getting involved the 2014-15 academic year and that’s when I saw it (LUNAFEST) and that quickly became my favorite program the Women’s Center has.”
The proceeds from this event went toward the Women’s Center as well as to Chicken & Egg Pictures, a nonprofit organization that advocates gender equality in the film industry.
Paige Fiske can be reached at [email protected].