LUNAFEST Benefit
May 9, 2008

LUNAFEST is a national film festival that began in 2001 that features short films by, for, or about women. The films range from animation to fictional drama, and cover topics such as women's health, motherhood, body image, sexuality, cultural diversity and breaking barriers.

The Festival came to the Capital Region in Spring 2008 at Siena College's Key Auditorium in Roger Bacon Hall, with all proceeds benefiting The Women’s Fund (85%) and the Breast Cancer Fund (15%). The Women's Fund gratefully received $2,083.

From left to right: Janice Goca - Siena Alumni Relations; Rachel Sloan - Merrill Lynch; Lisa Cardone O'Connor - Merrill Lynch; Ann Marie Franke - Merrill Lynch; Susan Haigh Houpt - Chair, The Women's Fund; Shannon O'Neill - Siena Bowman's Women's Center; Carrie Rashford - Merrill Lynch; Rachel Dorr - Merrill Lynch; and Georgia Kelly - Merrill Lynch.

Special thanks to The Bowman Center for Women at Siena College and The Women's Alliance of Merrill Lynch for hosting this spectacular event!

About 100 people attended the screening on Friday, May 9 at 7 pm. Tickets were $35 each and included popcorn and movie candy.

The nine films shown included:

• "My Other Mother" (Diana Keam, Capetown, South Africa): When her baby sister dies, Margo's other mother shows her how to grieve.

• "Make a Wish" (Christian Dabis, New York City): A young Palestinian girl will do whatever it takes to buy a birthday cake.

• "Dona Ana" (Laura Acevedo and Carolina Escobar, Medellin, Columbia): A seller of medicinal plants shares the joys and hardships of her life along with her love of strawberries.

• "Happiness" (Sophie Barthes, France): Iwona buys a box of happiness at a strange discount store and has to decide what to do with it.

• "Family Reunion" (Isold Uggadottir, New York City): Katrin leaves New York to visit her native Iceland in this whimsical tale of family secrets.

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