LunaFest Film Festival, in Sonoma County, follows in the tradition of celebrating women. Lunafest is a series of events that celebrate and show films made by, for and about women.
This film festival was envisioned and created by Kit Crawford, of Cliff Bar and LUNA Bars. Kit was diagnosed with breast cancer and throughout her fight was awed by the work that the Breast Cancer Fund was doing, especially their effort to educate women on methods of preventing breast cancer.
As a survivor, Kit was compelled to support the Breast Cancer Fund by highlighting women’s issues and celebrating the strength women have. Thus, the festival’s inception.
Along these lines, the festival encourages visitors to wear the craziest and most beautiful hats they can find. This is a particularly touching element of the festival – for many women, dealing with hair loss can cause shame, insecurity and anxiety. And so, to wear a hat and call attention to one’s head is empowering. It allows women to take control of their situation and choose how they are perceived by others.
This year, VIP Sarah Berkovich will talk about her film, “Blank Canvas”, a beautiful documentary made about a woman who chose to have her bald head adorned with henna tattoos in order to deal with hair loss, a common side effect of chemotherapy.
Dealing with her changing body image, the documentary’s protagonist, Kim, was forced to re-conceptualize beauty. The inspiring message in the film is that women can find their inner strength at times when it is least expected, to take control of their circumstances and help themselves.
This October, we would like to honor Kit, Sarah and Kim as our Fierce Women of the month. Fierce women are glorious female creatures whose visions of beauty are hinged upon the idea that they can change the world with each choice, each moment, and each breath of their lives. These three women, like our fierce woman philosophy, are challenging women to redefine their vision of beauty by taking what many women glorify as their most beautiful feminine feature and making them feel beautiful with or without it.
Here are some excerpts from our interview with Sarah:
What inspired you to make such a film? How did you even tap into such a unique method of coping?
“I’m a graduate student at Stanford, and I needed to do a film assignment shot on 16mm black and white film. I was first drawn to the topic of henna art after going to a Moroccan wedding. I thought it was just so beautiful and intricate, I really wanted to make a film about it.
I sort of stumbled upon a deeper story when I found the website of a local henna artist. She had some really unique uses of henna displayed on her website, and I was particularly inspired by her work with chemotherapy patients.
The first time I met Kim, the main character of my film, I was struck by her optimism and confidence. She was so open and willing to speak about some really difficult things was going through, such as losing her hair. I found it very inspirational that she was willing to make a bold statement by viewing at her baldness as a ‘Blank Canvas’ for some beautiful henna artwork.”
Why do you think this film is so moving?
“I think this story has a very powerful message not only for individuals facing serious illness but also with anyone who has struggled with issues of body image.
Recently, when I spoke with Kim about her participation in this project, she said that she was happy to share her story and that she hoped it could help at least one person who was going through what she went through.“
Indeed, the film has an element of universality and offers a valuable lesson for people trying to accept the circumstances they are unhappy with or those that challenge them. What Maxim loves so much about this film and festival, is that it is led by women who have survived the challenges of cancer and loved women facing breast cancer. These women have contributed something to making a statement and helping others. They have channeled their past experiences, no matter how negative, into something positive for everyone to enjoy and learn from
Maxim is proud to be part of such an event and have such a wonderful opportunity to touch the lives of such inspirational women. We’re trying to become a team of inspirational women too – see our monthly celebration of Fierce Women on our blog and let us know if you think of someone you know whom we should feature.