Tomorrow night, NYC’s swanky members-only club, Soho House, is opening its doors for a star-studded philanthropic event. Lunafest is a traveling festival that screens films exclusively made by women, about women. Each event benefits a different charity; tomorrow night (sponsored by Four Women NYC) a portion of the proceeds will go towards The Breast Cancer Fund, and the rest to the charity founded by Christy Turlington Burns, Every Mother Counts.
The films to be screened include Eight Limbs of Raja, a short starring Bridget Barkan, made in Brooklyn, that is a light hearted look at the challenges life presents. Barkan has previously acted in God’s Pocket alongside Philip Seymour Hoffman, a film that was well received at Sundance. Eight Limbs of Raja is directed by Louisa Brown, event chair and founding member of Four Women NYC. Louisa voiced her excitement for Lunafest; “The event is a celebration of mothers and women in general. I hope it gives people a little more insight into the need for proper maternal health care for mothers from all walks of life. After all, that’s how we all got here!”
A still from Eight Limbs of Raja
Episodes of Making of a Midwife, a documentary series by Every Mother Counts, will also be on view. The series chronicles the organization’s efforts to train midwives in Haiti, who each provide care to nearly 1,500 women, delivering between 120 and 240 babies per year. Christy Turlington Burns commented on the series; “We are thrilled to share excerpts from our film series, Making of a Midwife, as part of Lunafest because it is the perfect platform to visually educate others about an issue that touches us all. These excerpts focus on Midwives for Haiti’s graduating class of 2013 with our support. Together we can make pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother.”
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdzg7bIpK-o[/youtube]
Besides the film screening, this intimate 2-hour event will also include cocktails, nibbles, and a Q and A with Every Mother Counts and some of the filmmakers. DOWNTOWN Magazine is proud to be a sponsor of tomorrow’s event.
A limited number of tickets are still available. For more information, visit lunafest.org.
–Charlotte Bryant
