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News

Women on Both Sides of the Camera

Women on Both Sides of the Camera

Director: Mahshad Afshar
Runtime: 95 minutes

Benefiting from a wide range of rare archive materials, this feature-length documentary focuses on one century of the representation of women in Iranian cinema. Looking at the formation of the Iranian film industry and its relationship with socio-political events, the film narrates the challenges of women who chose this controversial and unorthodox career in Iran’s patriarchal society and the consequences that they were faced as a result of their choice. It also highlights the integral role that female filmmakers have played in Iranian cinema to tell women’s stories, to challenge the tradition, sharia law, and ultimately to overcome the suppression of female authority on screen.


Screening Info

Date: Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 4:30pm
Venue: The GoggleWorks Boscov Theater
Address: 201 Washington St, Reading
Tickets: $10

Documenting Art

Voice of Selma

Director: Roya Iravani
Runtime: 30 minutes

The Voice of Selma (Moghaddam Museum) Project is a feature-length documentary film that guides us through the treasures collected over a lifetime of work by Selma Moghaddam and her husband Mohsen. Against a backdrop of government hostility toward Persian works of art that predate the Islamic revolutionary period and a personal dislike of Mohsen Moghaddam for his family’s role in the assassination of a government official, the two highly educated and well-traveled historians embarked on a life journey to find and preserve the art and artifacts that represent Persia and Iran.

Pictograph

Director: Roya Iravani
Runtime: 30 minutes

The pictograph is a documentary that takes a unique and comprehensive look into the relatively unknown world of modern art in Iran. This historical perspective examines an ancient culture that has run the gamut from actively repressing to ecstatically embracing, artists and art itself – Iranian artists have ridden the whirlwind in their quest to express the creative genius within


Screening Info

Date: Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 4pm
Venue: Reading IMAX Theater
Address: 30 N 2nd St, Reading
Tickets: $10

Tackling Politics

We Are All in this Together

Director: Daniel Troia
Runtime: 70 minutes

During divisive times in America, a man sets off on a cross-country bicycle journey, with no food, no money, and the hope of gaining a better understanding of the human connection.

website

Vitriol

Director: Mark Clauburg
Runtime: 25 minutes

A short documentary exploring vehement social media interactions from both sides of the political spectrum.

website

MEN in Charge

Director: Melanie Kloetzel & Linnea Swan
Runtime: 37 minutes

Tracking the antics of the performance group kloetzel&co., ‘MEN in charge’ documents the development of the satirical dance theatre work ‘It began with watching’. Through a physical and artistic representation of a sector enthralled by alternative facts, ‘MEN in charge’ provokes audiences to reconsider the cunning, and sometimes comical, intersection of art and politics.

website | facebook

Screening Info

Date: Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 3:30pm
Venue: Reading IMAX Theater
Address: 30 N 2nd St, Reading
Tickets: $10

Iranian Short Films

Goodbye Olympic

Director: Mojtaba poorbakhsh
Runtime: 18:37 minutes

Maria is a girl whom she is a champion of Kayak; she is waiting for dispatching to the Olympics Qualification which held in France. The schedule of dispatching the kayaking team will be called off because of some troubles.

Synthesis

Director: Mohammad Towrivarian
Runtime: 15 minutes

A poor family has a child with a disability. Due to his inability to pay for medical expenses, the father and his brother decide to kill their child. The father tries to do his job at night, but the mother, who is suspected of his behavior, goes to the road with them.
On the way, the father sees his brother and tells him that he regrets his decision, but his brother humiliates him and makes him miserable and miserable. The brother goes after his brother.
In the morning, he takes care of the woman and puts her to sleep, and picks up the child and puts him on the sidewalk. When she returns to her husband, she is confronted with the scene of her murder.

Inhale

Director: Nasser Zamiri
Runtime: 19:30 minutes

Ebrahim’s chronic insomnia has caused tension between him and his wife, Marziyeh.

website

Hermit

Director: Omid Mirzaei
Runtime: 15 minutes

I am American

Director: Omid Mirzaei
Runtime: 15 minutes

ISIS captures an American reporter. He will soon experience the meaning of peace in a different way.

Today is Friday

Director: Mohammad Ahangar
Runtime: 14 minutes

Nader and Saed are arguing with each other because of their problems in the company.
But suddenly something happens which causes some changes to their destiny.

I Come From That Crowded City

Director: Mina Salimi
Runtime: 12:04 minutes

Screening Info

Date: Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 2:30pm
Venue: The GoggleWorks Boscov Theater
Address: 201 Washington St, Reading
Tickets: $10

The Remnants of War

Our Feet are Rooted

Director: Krista Imbesi
Runtime: 29:54 minutes

“Our Feet Are Rooted” is a documentary about government sponsored land grabbing in Northern Uganda and the non-violent techniques community members are using to fight for their ancestral land.

watch trailer

Buddha’s Shame

Director: Morteza Atashzamzam
Runtime: 30 minutes

Bangladeshi local reporter Tamna travels to Myanmar-Bangladesh border to cover Rohingya genocide.


Screening Info

Date: Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 2pm
Venue: Reading IMAX Theater
Address: 30 N 2nd St, Reading
Tickets: $10

Special Block: Mental Health

In the Balance

Director: Kemuel Charles
Runtime: 23:57 minutes

Two US Marine Soldiers returning home from the Iraq war, suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, must learn how to cope with their “new” everyday reality. Shawn is an ill-mannered alcoholic on the verge of exploding, while Chris seeks redemption within his psychiatrist, with the hopes of reclaiming his family and life.

After Chris has a brief yet awkward encounter with his Ex-Marine Sergeant, Shawn, whom has cut himself off from everything except cigarettes and alcohol. Chris begins to question his ethics and morality, as Shawn settles into a life of anger and self-destruction. Chris wants nothing more than to
reunite with his beautiful wife, Kenia, who still has concerns about her husband’s state of mind as well as the safety of their six-year-old daughter.

Chris confidently seeks the help of his new therapist, which ultimately turns out to be God manifesting as part of his spiritual sanity.

The Darkness Before Me

Director: Rachael Quinn
Runtime: 15 minutes

What lurks in the darkness – hides plainly in the light.

Tony, a grown man, suffers an inexplicable fear of the dark. Seeking help, he finds himself on the couch of a less than perceptive psychoanalyst. What’s really haunting Tony? Does he know? Can the doctor find it? Will the doctor find it? To understand what takes place when the lights go out, one must pay close attention while they’re still on.


Screening Info

Date: Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 1pm
Venue: The GoggleWorks Boscov Theater
Address: 201 Washington St, Reading
Tickets: $10

Short Docs – Bundini, Amber’s Halfway Home

Bundini

Director: Patrick Green
Runtime: 21:55 minutes

Drew “Bundini” Brown was the source of Muhammad Ali’s spirit who stood by the champ during his triumphs, trials and tribulations both inside and outside the ring. “Bundini” is the first ever documentary on Ali’s beloved trainer/Svengali that explores the extraordinary life of the man whom Ali said made him “The Greatest” through archival footage, family photos, and narration by “Bundini” biographer Todd Snyder and Bundini’s only son, Drew III.

website

Amber’s Halfway Home

Director: Melissa Armstrong & Jason Pidgeon
Runtime: 30:09 minutes

Amber Reynolds runs her nonprofit, the Halfway Home Animal Rescue, in Greenfield, TN, a tiny farming community hidden somewhere between Nashville and Memphis. At a glance, Greenfield is pastoral, beautiful even. But underneath idyllic scenes of meandering creeks and cotton fields, is a raging problem of too many unwanted animals.

In Amber’s Halfway Home, a film crew follows Amber for one day. During that day, she rescues 19 dogs. Some are dumped on the roadside and left to survive on their own. Others are living in unhealthy conditions at the unregulated and pitifully funded shelters. Watch as one woman saves these homeless animals from certain death.

Amber’s Halfway Home is an exploration of the conditions at government-funded shelters and the consequences of ignoring our country’s homeless animals. But, it’s also a celebration of a woman battling for change in her Southern community, a warrior who saved 2000 dogs in one year.

website | watch trailer | facebook

Screening Info

Date: Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 12pm
Venue: Reading IMAX Theater
Address: 30 N 2nd St, Reading
Tickets: $10

Thriller Combo – Don’t Go Hiking, Night at the Eagle Inn

Don’t Go Hiking

Director: Director
Runtime: 4:56 minutes

A young man encounters a mysterious stranger while hiking in the woods.

website

Night at the Eagle Inn

Director: Erik Bloomquist
Runtime: 70 minutes

Fraternal twins embark on a pilgrimage to a remote inn to investigate the last known whereabouts of their father who mysteriously disappeared the night they were born — their exploration leading to shocking revelations as the property’s dark secrets ensnare them in a hellish labyrinth they must escape before dawn.

website | facebook

Female Filmmaker Shorts

Dust

Director: Serena Giordano
Runtime: 6:24 minutes

Rossella and Guglielmo’s older brother, Edoardo, passed away. Death brings the two siblings back together…maybe.

World Cup

Director: Maryam Khodabakhsh
Runtime: 17:42 minutes

On the night of a couple’s migration, the child of their friend who has been entrusted to them gets lost, and then a secret is revealed …

Life Happens & Then You Cry

Director: Qbah Fernandez
Runtime: 19:53 minutes

A day in the life of busy career woman, Kate (Kate Hughes). Kate finds herself in a pivotal moment of her life where she must make a difficult choice about her relationship with long term boyfriend, Dave (Christopher Morris). With some help from her sassy Latina best friend, Sara (Sara Viteri) she may be able to find a solution to her dilemma.

facebook

Offline

Director: Kate Kelsen
Runtime: 7 minutes

A terminally-ill man faces his greatest challenge when he gathers his close friends to plan his funeral.

website | watch trailer | facebook

Inspira

Director: Emma Orelove
Runtime: 5:58 minutes

An exploration of life for one woman living in 2020 through breath. Created by an all-female team.

website

Jabaril Keating

Director: Stacey Larkins
Runtime: 10 minutes

Upon making a life altering decision, Jabari Keating is a candid first person narrative film that explores his personal reflections, life experiences and trials and tribulations as an African American in present day America.

watch trailer

Wistful Pieces

Director: Ellany Kincross
Runtime: 18:03 minutes

Nick and Nadia are a successful couple in their 40’s who have been married for 12 years. Their lives have revolved around love and career until Nadia’s ex-boyfriend, Adam enters the picture. Adam is desperate to make peace with the past. As he thrusts himself into their lives, Nick and Nadia’s commitment is tested by otherworldly forces.

Can Nadia forgive Adam? Can Nick and Nadia find their way back to each other?

Wistful Pieces explores how the past isn’t always complete and that the world you see isn’t really all there is.

website | watch trailer | facebook

Duet

Director: Mika Orr
Runtime: 21 minutes

Duet is the story of one fateful day in the lives of 8-year-old girls May and Shadmit, who dislike each other but learn that their lives have become oddly intertwined forever.

Duet is a multidisciplinary project, uniquely integrating film and music. The story raises questions about loneliness, regret, subject memory and fate that ties two children together for a lifetime.

website | watch trailer | facebook

The Fading Moon, Distressed Desert, & Calm Cloud

Director: Rochelle White
Runtime: 3:05 minutes

A raging Desert allows her frustration to grow to the point it almost consumes her! She is scared the moon may never return! But as the cycle of nature unfolds, the Desert soon learns she has no other choice but to trust in its wisdom.

website | watch trailer | facebook

Screening Info

Date: Friday, October 1, 2021 at 7:30pm
Venue: The GoggleWorks Boscov Theater
Address: 201 Washington St, Reading
Tickets: $10

LUNAFEST

LUNAFEST

ReadingFilmFEST celebrates female filmmakers!

ReadingFilmFEST in collaboration with the American Association of University Women, AAUW will host LUNAFEST during our seventh annual film festival!  LUNAFEST is a fundraising film festival dedicated to promoting awareness about women’s issues, highlighting women filmmakers, and bringing people together in their communities to engage in the arts.

This unique film festival features seven short films by lauded women filmmakers who have been featured at major film festivals, from Sundance to SXSW. Films range from animation to documentary to fictional drama, and cover topics such as women’s health, body image, relationships, cultural diversity and breaking barriers.

Proceeds from the event benefit AAUW, as well as Chicken & Egg Productions.

When: Thursday September, 30th

Doors open at 6:00 pm   Films begin at 7:00 pm

Where: Reading Movies 11 and IMAX Theater

Click here for tickets to LunaFest.

IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ OUR VACCINATION POLICY BEFORE PURCHASING TICKETS!


LUNAFEST TICKETS

LUNAFEST LINEUP

OVEREXPOSED: FILMING AN ARCTIC ODYSSEY

BY HOLLY MORRIS

Overexposed:  Filming an Arctic Odyssey (2021). Dir. Holly Morris. A high-stakes behind-the-scenes look at the film team that captured the daring story of the Women’s Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition.

HOLLY MORRIS

Holly Morris has told, and championed, pro-woman stories on the global stage for two decades. She is an internationally known filmmaker, author, and presenter (works include “Adventure Divas” and “Globe Trekker.”)

Her most recent film, “The Babushkas of Chernobyl” (lauded as “an affectionate and stirring documentary” by The New York Times), premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival, where it won the Jury Award for Directing, the first of nearly two dozen awards received before being broadcast worldwide. The film’s story, which is based on Morris’s print journalism and also forms the basis of her popular TED Talk, is about a defiant community of women who live inside Ukraine’s radioactive “Exclusion Zone.”

Her newest feature film, a high stakes Arctic documentary called “Exposure”, will be released in 2021.

KNOCKING DOWN THE FENCES

BY MEG SHUTZER

AJ Andrews, the first woman to win a Rawlings Gold Glove Award, struggles to make it as one of the best professional softball players in the world.

MEG SHUTZER

Meg Shutzer is a queer, award-winning documentary filmmaker and investigative reporter from Oakland, California. Her first documentary, “New Generation Queens: a Zanzibar Soccer Story,” premiered at the Manhattan Film Festival in 2015, played on four continents, and won numerous awards at film festivals.

A LINE BIRDS CANNOT SEE
BY AMY BENCH

Separated from her mother at the border, a 12 year old sets out on a harrowing journey to the United States to find her.

AMY BENCH

Amy Bench is a Texas-based filmmaker and visual artist who is drawn to the immediacy of film and photography to tell stories of community and resilience. Trained as a cinematographer, her observational style highlights small details of the human experience that transcend formal explanation.

Amy’s animated documentary “A Line Birds Cannot See” won Special Jury Recognition at SXSW, Best Animated Short at Bend Film Festival, and the 2020 Ellie Award in video for excellence in digital magazine journalism.

Amy is a member of the 20-person artist collective and gallery ICOSA, based in Austin, Texas. She received her MFA from The University of Texas at Austin in 2010.

THE SCIENTISTS VERSUS DARTMOUTH
BY SHARON SHATTUCK

A young neuroscientist and her colleagues make a life-changing decision to speak up for women in science everywhere.

SHARON SHATTUCK

Sharon Shattuck is an Emmy-nominated documentary film/TV director and cohost of the podcast “Conviction: American Panic” from Gimlet/Spotify. She’s the cocreator of the New York Times Op-Docs science series, “Animated Life,” which was nominated for a 2016 Creative Arts Emmy.

Her work has appeared on PBS, National Geographic Channel, Netflix, Slate, Vice, The New York Times Op-Docs, The Atlantic, ProPublica, Spotify, and Radiolab. She has degrees in forest ecology and journalism.

UNTIL SHE IS FREE

BY MARIA FINITZO

Mixed-media artist Sophia Wallace imagines a culturally cliterate world, where all people are equal and able to live with rich possibility and purpose.

MARIA FINITZO

Maria Finitzo is a two-time Peabody Award–winning social issue documentary filmmaker whose 30 years as a filmmaker has resulted in a body of work that has won every major broadcast award, including most recently the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award, and has been screened in festivals and theaters around the world.

Her films are novelistic in their structure, providing multiple points of connection for an audience. She allows the narrative arc of her character’s story to evolve, colliding with other subjects from the film, creating a complex, nuanced story that serves as a vehicle to deepen our understanding of society through everyday human drama.

CONNECTION
BY TRACY NGUYEN-CHUNG & CIARA LACY

A lifelong angler, Autumn Harry had never fished beyond the waters of her reservation—until she picked up a fly rod.

TRACY NGUYEN-CHUNG 

Tracy Nguyen-Chung is a filmmaker, strategist, and founder of After Bruce, a boutique PR agency whose clients have included “The Farewell,” “The Great Hack,” International Documentary Association, LA Asian Pacific Film Festival, and more. She also coproduced “The Great Hack,” an Emmy and BAFTA-nominated feature documentary that world premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and is now streaming on Netflix.

CIARA LACY

Ciara Lacy is a Native Hawaiian filmmaker and director of “Out of State,” which premiered at the LA Film Festival and was broadcast on “Independent Lens”. Her work has shown at festivals around the world as well as on Netflix, PBS, ABC, and Al Jazeera. In the digital space, she has created content for The Guardian and The Atlantic.

BETYE SAAR: TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
BY CHRISTINE TURNER

There’s no stopping this legendary artist, even at age 93.

CHRISTINE TURNER

Christine Turner is a filmmaker based in New York. Her critically acclaimed documentary “Homegoings,” about a funeral director in Harlem, premiered at Documentary Fortnight at MoMA and was broadcast nationally on the PBS series “POV.”

With over a decade of experience in television production, Christine also collaborates on nonfiction series and documentaries for broadcast.

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