HEALTHY LIVING LUNAFEST

MANN KE MANJEERÉ (5'15") Singer Shubha Mudgal vocals portray the journey of a courageous domestic violence survivor. The story of the music video was inspired greatly by the life of a young Muslim women, Shameem Paathan. Born into a well-to-do family and the daughter of 7 sons, Shameem fell in love, and much against the wishes of her family married the man of her choice. That she made the wrong choice soon became apparent. When her son was three and a half years old, Shameem finally decided to fend for herself. She went through a series of businesses and finally she learned how to drive, an unheard of occupation for a women in her society. She now drives her own van in Ahmedabad, ferrying passengers.

Director: Sujit Sircar, Red Ice Films

Produced By: Breakthrough, an international human rights organization

Awards: India screen award winner "Best Music Video," MTV Award Nomination "Best Music Video- Indipop"

Did you Know? 2003 was the first year a women held a commercial driver’s license in India.

PLUM FLOWER (10") Plum Flower takes place in 1948 China. It was a time when female infanticide was a normal occurrence for poor rural communities. Females could not carry on the family name, so they were less desirable when too many were born to one family. Plum Flower is about a mother and father facing a staggering moral choice when they have a fifth daughter. It is based on the true story of the filmmaker’s family.

Director and Producer: Serena Moy

Screenings: Student Award, Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival, Amnesty International Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, Nashville Film Festival, Phoenix Film Festival

Did You Know? For over 25 years China has had a One Child Policy, which allows only one child per mother. Today in China, approximately 100,000 baby girls are abandoned annually.

SLIP OF THE TONGUE (4'07") Be careful what you ask a stranger at a bus stop; a look at perceptions of beauty, ethnicity, and body image define "ethnic makeup."

Director and Producer: Karen Lum

Screenings: San Francisco International Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, Media That Matters Film Festival, Women of Color Film Festival

Did You Know? Only two percent of women around the world consider themselves beautiful.

BREACHED (18' 10") A Mexican women is nearing delivery and is determined to have her baby on American soil.

Director Laura Richard

Producer Cayetana Vidal and Zeina Durra

Screenings Tribeca International Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival, Cinefestival, Cinema Jove International Film Festival

Did You Know? Today, 35-45% of immigrants illegally crossing the border are women, as compared to 20 years ago when less than 20% were women.

CITY PARADISE (6') London is a big city, and for those new to it, it can sometimes seem quite scary. But Tomoko, who arrives from Japan to learn English, accidentally discovers a mysterious, secret city underground, inhabited by friendly little aliens and beautiful blossoms. After she finds it, everything changes.

Director: Gaëlle Denis, Paradise Pictures

Producer: Erika Forzy

Screenings: Aspen Short Film Festival (Innovation Award), Arts Electronica (Award of Distinction Computeranimation / Visual EFilm Festivalects), Mill Valley Film Festival (Best Short), Hong Kong International Film Festival

Did You Know? The number of speakers of English as a second language outnumber those who speak it as a first language.

TOP OF THE CIRCLE (5') Who is at the top of the food chain? This experimental performance piece explores the cycle of life and death--and bacon bits.

Director and Producer: Shaz Bennett.

Screenings: The Los Angeles Film Festival, Silverdocs, Cinevegas, The Nashville Film Festival, SF Stage and Film Festival.

Did You Know? The expression "Bringing home the bacon" comes from a 12th Century English custom of giving a couple bacon if they were happy after a year of marriage.

DEAR TALULA (34'30") Filmmaker Lori Benson is a quintessential downtown New Yorker who was diagnosed with breast cancer just 14 months after the birth of her daughter,Talula. With much grace and humor, Benson brings us along as her friends and husband document an emotionally charged year. We thus become part of Benson's inner circle and are privy to her most intimate thoughts, vulnerabilities, and discoveries. The profound experience makes the filmmaker confront her own mortality and ultimately strengthens her connection to her true self.

Director and Producer: Lori Benson.

Screenings: Tribeca Film Festival, Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute

Did you Know? A woman’s lifetime risk of being diagnosed with Breast Cancer is 1 in 7; more than double the 1940’s risk of 1 in 20.

KYLIE GOLDSTEIN-ALL AMERICAN (3’) A documentary about a Chinese adopted, All-American 6 year old.

Director and Producer: Eva Saks.

Screenings: Cinequest, Chicago Children's Film Festival, BAMkids Film Festival, DC International Film Festival, Brooklyn International Film Festival, NATP ("Next Generation" Award for Documentary).

Did You Know? In 2005, 22,728 visas were issued for orphans coming into the US, of which 34% were from mainland China and of those, 95% were girls.

AGRICULTURAL REPORT (2' 30") A concerned cow discovers the bliss of ignorance.

Director: Melina Sydney Padua

Producer: Barry O’Donoghue.

Screenings: Irish Film and Television Awards, CinéEco International Environmental Film & Video Festival, Taorimina Film Festival (Best Short), Amnesty International Film Festival, Manchester International Film Festival

Did You Know? Cows produce more milk when listening to music.