Whoever thought of calling sappy movies with trite story lines “chick flicks”? In reality, women are more than the mindless man-seekers they are cast as in stereotype-reinforcing romantic comedies. For proof directly from the source, check out the upcoming Lunafest film festival coming to campus on Jan. 25.

Sponsored by Luna Bars, a brand of energy bars made for women, Lunafest will feature seven short films ranging from around eight to 20 minutes in length, all created by female filmmakers and screenwriters. Their topics broach sexuality, cultural diversity, women’s health, body image and spirituality.

“It’s definitely exciting to support female filmmakers, because it’s really difficult for women to break through in this industry,” said event coordinator Heather Howerton who, along with fellow Revelle senior and event director Mather Martin, will bring the festival to UCSD for the first time. “Also, it creates a forum in which the issues come up and can be discussed.”

In addition to supporting women’s issues and women in film, all the proceeds from the event will go directly to the Breast Cancer Fund, which was founded by Martin’s mother. Howerton and Martin, who both experienced the passing of their mothers due to cancer, have dedicated the festival to their moms.

“We’re not keeping anything except for the cost of running the event. We’re hoping to get a thousand people, which will let us send around $10,000 to the [fund],” Howerton said.

Howerton, whose living room contains roughly a thousand Luna Bars for use in the event’s promotion, said that this is the first year that individual organizations can host Lunafest, making this the first time the festival will be seen at UCSD.

Lunafest features a collection of varied short films that have gained acclaim from organizations like HBO and Sundance. Terri Miller, whose film “Dysenchanted” will be shown at the festival, says she is proud to be a part of the event.

“I think what they’re doing is fantastic, and shows how varied and talented female filmmakers can be,” Miller said. Her film, starring Alexis Bledel of “Gilmore Girls” and Jim Belushi, was made with 5,000 feet of 35mm film she won from the Back East Picture Show and is an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival. The film takes place in a group therapy session with fairy-tale characters (Sleeping Beauty, Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, Cinderella, Dorothy, Alice of Wonderland and Snow White) who are put into modern society and complain wittily about their post-happily-ever-after lives to a shrink and Clara, a New Jersey divorcée. In addition to being beautifully shot, the film is clever and well-scripted, which can be expected from Miller, who has sold projects to Disney, DreamWorks and NBC.

In talking about succeeding as a female screenwriter in a male-dominated industry, Miller said, “Firstly, it’s difficult for a human being to write a really good script. Not a male, female, dog or goat; it’s hard for a human being.”

In addition to the general difficulty of the craft, women are a minority, with only some 8 percent of all feature films written by women.

“People [in the industry] want to go with the tried and true, so what’s being made is taking a leap of faith on script and in the fact that you’re a female,” Miller said.

The other films at the festival cover all kinds of topics, styles and backgrounds. They go from Jesse Epstein’s raw documentary “Wet Dreams and False Images” (winner of the 2004 Online Sundance Jury Award), which explores the American media’s beauty standards through the eyes of a Brooklyn barber and “booty expert,” to the sensual “La Milpa” (The Cornfield), by Patricia Riggen, about a woman’s experience in revolutionary Mexico and her granddaughter’s modern-day encounters. “Little Black Boot,” by Colette Burson, is an angst-ridden short about sexuality told through a high-school Goth girl and the girl she pines for. “Shui Hen,” written by Maura Johnston, follows a Cantonese girl’s relocation to Cuba; Jen Sachs’ “The Velvet Tigress” is a fresh, experimental animation about the trial of Winnie Ruth Judd for the bloody “Trunk Murders” of the 1930s. Finally, “A Good Uplift,” from directors Faye Lederman, Cheryl Furjanic and Eve Lederman, follows Magda, a lower East Side brassiere shop owner, as she tells customers charismatically “what shape [they] are and where [they] are hanging.”

Lunafest will appear on screens nationwide through March. Its organizers at UCSD will be on Library Walk all week giving away promotional items — and, of course, plenty of Luna Bars — up until the showing at Price Center Ballroom.

Lunafest

Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2005

Price Center Ballroom

Doors open at 6:30 pm

$7 Students

$10 General

For more information, visit http://www.lunabar.com/lunafest

[Editor’s note: Mather Martin is a managing editor of the Guardian.]