LEWISTON — On Friday, Oct. 5, L/A Arts will present LUNAFEST, a film festival featuring nine short films by, for and about women.

Established in 2000 by LUNA, the makers of the Whole Nutrition Bar for Women, LUNAFEST connects women, their stories and their causes through films that have intelligent, funny and thought-provoking themes.

LUNAFEST has since grown from a single annual happening to a coast-to-coast event with more than 150 North American screenings each season. To date, 92 filmmakers have been featured and nearly $1.2 million has been raised. 

Proceeds from the LUNAFEST  at the Franco-American Heritage Center, 46 Cedar St.,will support the Breast Cancer Fund and L/A Arts.

The nine films offering reflection, hope and humor will be shown from 7:30 to about 10 p.m. For tickets, $15, call 782-7228 or visit www.laarts.org. For more information about LUNAFEST,log on to www.LUNAFEST.org.

Films at a glance

* “Blank Canvas”

Filmmaker: Sarah Berkovich

When Kim receives a devastating diagnosis of uterine cancer, her world turns upside down. Throughout her treatment, she struggles to cope with her changing body image in positive ways. Taking an unconventional route, she turns her baldness into a blank canvass for self-expression and, thereby, makes a powerful statement that allows her to share her experience with others.

* “Chalk”

Filmmaker: Martina Amati

When a gymnast is selected for the National training camp, she discovers something new about bodies, boys and friendship.

* “Flawed”

Filmmaker: Andrea Dorfman

Artist Dorfman’s drawings come to life as she animates the story of her long-distance relationship with a man whose profession—plastic surgery— prompts her to think about what makes a person beautiful. “Flawed” is less about whether a girl can get along with a boy than whether a girl can accept herself, imperfections and all. Animated in time lapse as an homage to the time-honored tradition of storyboarding, “Flawed” unfolds like a storybook, one watercolor painting at a time.

* “Georgena Terry”

Filmmaker: Amanda Zackem

Georgena Terry, founder of Terry bicycles, revolutionized the women’s biking industry by creating a bike frame specific to a woman’s body. This is the story of how she got her start and the challenges within the women’s biking movement.

* “Lunch Date”

Filmmaker: Sasha Collington

2011 was supposed to be Annabel’s year. So why is she here, sitting in a restaurant, being told by a 14-year-old that her boyfriend, Thomas, doesn’t want to see her anymore. The small messenger is Wilbur, who has agreed to break the news as payment for borrowing Thomas’ tent. But dispensing with Annabel proves a bigger challenge than Wilbur had anticipated.

*“Self Portrait with Cows Going Home and Other Works”

Filmmaker: Rebecca Dreyfus

Richard Avedon wrote of fellow photographer Sylvia Plachy, “She makes me laugh and she breaks my heart.” Plachy is perhaps best known for her weekly photographs in The Village Voice, but her images have been widely exhibited in the United States and abroad. Her impressive body of work spans more than four decades. Her images have appeared in numerous publications such as Aperture, Art Forum and The New York Times Magazine.  Her most recent book, “Goings on about Town,” is a compilation of photographs taken for The New Yorker.

“Self-Portrait with Cows Going Home and Other Works” is a film portrait of Plachy, who ironically is camera shy. Dreyfus coaxes Plachy to open up about her work. The result is a soulful and slightly eccentric look into her private world.

Legendary documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles makes an on-camera appearance Plachy’s subject and also shoots segments of the film. Plachy’s son, Academy Award-winning actor Adrien Brody, who is also a composer, wrote the score for the film. 

* “The Bathhouse”

Filmmaker: Jisoo Kim

“The Bathhouse” is an animated short film that takes the viewer from the dark, polluted streets of the modern city into the sanctuary of the bathhouse. The women who venture into this place enter as strangers, weary from the toils of the city, but together they undergo an empowering physical and spiritual transformation. LUNAFEST is the first festival to screen this film.

* “Whakatiki-A Spirit Rising”

Filmmaker: Louise Leitch

Kiri, an overweight Maori woman, takes a trip to the Whakatiki River where she spent many summers as a girl. With her goes her husband, Dan, his friend Seb and beautiful newcomer, Josie. The place awakens powerful memories for Kiri  and as tensions mount, she draws on her spiritual connection to the river to rise up and reconnect with her true self.

* “When I Grow Up”

Filmmaker: Sharon Arteaga

Letty dreams of not one but several taco trucks so she can stop working at the restaurant and better provide for herself and daughter. But Michaela hates helping his mother sell tacos every morning before school. Driving past a wasteland of refineries in Corpus Christi, Texas, they both find hurt and hope during one of their morning routines.