Back in town for its second year of nationwide touring, the LUNAFEST film festival will be coming to the Forum at the University of San Diego on Nov. 7 for an evening projection of six short films by, for and about women. The festival, a product of partnership between The Breast Cancer Fund and Clif Bar Inc., makers of LUNA bar, was created with a threefold purpose in mind: to entertain, to promote up-and-coming woman filmmakers and to help the breast cancer cause, with all proceeds going to The Breast Cancer Fund.
“”We thought that a film festival was a great way to give women filmmakers an opportunity in a business where they are widely underrepresented, as well as to create a dialogue [on issues concerning women],”” said Dean Mayer, a spokesman for LUNAFEST.
Clif Bar Inc. has been partnering with the fund year-round since the inception of the LUNA bar in many ways other than Lunafest. In addition to providing significant financial support, the company also prints the fund’s logo and Web site address on each LUNA bar wrapper, as well as promotes and provides support for hikers in the fund’s “”Peak Hike”” events around the country, in which hikers literally climb mountains to symbolically represent the struggles of people whom breast cancer.
“”Breast cancer is an issue that hits home for many of us,”” Mayer said.
Gary Erikson, CEO of Clif Bar Inc., is the son of a breast cancer survivor, and many of the other employees have been in some way effected by breast cancer, according to Mayer.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women worldwide, and is the No. 1 killer of women ages 34 to 54; however, it also affects younger women.
“”[Breast cancer] hits women of all ages,”” Mayer said. “”A lot of young women think it’s nothing for them to worry about, so we are making sure that Lunafest is traveling to a lot of college campuses.””
According to The Breast Cancer Fund, the incidence of breast cancer in the United States has more than doubled in the past 30 years, with a 1-in-8 lifetime risk today. The fund attributes this rise to environmental factors, citing studies linking toxins to the cancer and the higher rate of breast cancer in industrialized nations. The fund’s mission is to prevent breast cancer by eliminating the preventable environmental causes of the disease.
Erikson recently joined the fund’s executive director in testifying before state legislature at a hearing on the environmental causes of breast cancer.
“”He argued that [the discontinued use of toxins] isn’t going to destroy business,”” Mayer said. “”We can be good to the environment and still thrive as a business.””
Last year, the festival raised over $7,000, and organizers are hoping to raise even more this year by touring more venues. The films shown deal with a wide variety of issues concerning women, from jail to breast enhancement, and were chosen from over 160 entries. The San Diego show starts at 7 p.m. and tickets cost $7. For more information call (800) 884-5254.
