Zonta Filmfest returns to Dodge College
Photo Courtesy of Zonta Club of Newport Harbor
Every year, Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts helps put on LunaFest — an annual fundraiser showcasing women filmmakers and supporting female film students at the university. The event was sponsored by Luna Bars and hosted by the Zonta Club of Newport Harbor, but after some rearrangements happened at the company a few years ago, the festival was canceled.
Knowing the importance of supporting female film students, the members of the Zonta Club of Newport Harbor took matters into their own hands and decided to continue the festival on their own. Last year was the first year of the Zonta FilmFest, with the same goal as the original festival: to support female film students at a time when it is difficult for them to get money for projects in Hollywood.
This year's festival will take place on April 26 from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Dodge’s Marion Knotts Studios lobby. The Panther spoke to three women who are most integral to making this year's Zonta Filmfest run about their experience with Zonta and why this festival is important.
Zonta International is a worldwide organization advocating for women’s rights, equality, education and ending gender-based violence. The Zonta Club of Newport Harbor was chartered in 1948.
Bonnie Schumacher is this year's arrangements chairman for the club. She has been involved on many committees over her 37 years with Zonta International, joking that while she has been highly involved in the past, this year, she is just in charge of the bar — and selling as many tickets as possible.
Hillary Kaye is one of the co-chairs for the Zonta FilmFest and has been for the last decade when it was LunaFest She is joined as co-chair with Jill Stites, who has been a member of Zonta of Newport Harbor for about three years; Stites was in charge of the silent auction during her first year with LunaFest but joined Kaye as co-chair last year after the sponsor change. The first independent go-around of the festival went so well last year, becoming one of Zonta’s most successful fundraisers with over $40,000 raised, that the pair were brought back for a second go.
At this year’s Zonta Filmfest, you can expect an assortment of fun things accompanying the seven curated short film screenings, including complimentary appetizers, a no-host bar, a silent auction and a wine pull.
“Hillary had this idea for quite a while, but last year, it actually came to fruition to help increase our fundraising efforts,” Stites told The Panther. “Last year, we had one of our members donate her condo in Hawaii. People get excited, you know, $50 to win a week stay in Hawaii.”
This year, it's five nights at a luxurious oceanfront condominium in Kona, Hawaii.
“The reason I thought we should have (the raffle) is it’s a way for people to support our causes if they can’t attend the event,” said Kaye. “They don’t have to be there to win.”
Schumacher’s favorite event of the night is the wine pull.
“Everyone from our club gives a bottle of wine that’s worth at least $25 or more,” said Schumacher. “Some will give a real specialty bottle. They are slid into a slot, and then you choose a cork that has a number on it. At the end of the event, you come out and get your bottle. It can be very surprising.”
The money raised each year is given to grants at Dodge College for female filmmakers and to Working Wardrobes — a nonprofit that has been around for 30 years.
“They provide career development and wardrobe,” said Kaye. “It started off (with) only women, and now they do men too, and veterans. We like having another nonprofit involved.”
The three ladies think it makes perfect sense for the Zonta Club of Newport Harbor to provide grants for female filmmakers, as it ties back to the entire mission of Zonta International.
“Our mission is building a better world for women and girls. It’s so difficult for women to get money in Hollywood and to produce your films,” said Schumacher. “Last year, I had lunch with (film producer) Susan Cartsonis and Susie Landau Finch. I asked them if (the industry) was different after all these years that we’ve supported Chapman. They said, ‘No, it's not different. It’s so difficult.’”
She continued: “You have a man that wants to put a movie on, boom, the money comes in. A woman, you have to beg and plead. To go back to the beginning, the reason we really wanted to associate and give money to women film students is we know that it’s so difficult for them to even get the money to produce their films, and that really is your resume to go into Hollywood.”
Kaye, Schumacher and Stites say the club always seeks new members. To learn more about Zonta International and the Zonta Club of Newport Harbor, visit their respective sites.
“We have nurses, doctors, professional women that want to serve and help other women and mentor younger women and support female businesses,” said Stites. “This is our biggest fundraiser, but we are also a service organization. Once a month, we cook meals for a women's shelter called WISEPlace. We provide scholarships for women in business, women in STEM, and advocate for women’s rights, against sex trafficking and childhood marriages.”
You can find tickets to this year's Zonta Filmfest here; regular tickets are $50. The women of the Zonta Club of Newport Harbor wish to encourage more students to come, so student tickets with ID are $25.
FILMS OF THE 2025 ZONTA FILMFEST
“Gratuity” (Live action)
Synopsis: When Tammy, a single mother and waitress, receives a winning lottery ticket and her ex-husband returns to reap the rewards, she is forced to fight for her winnings.
“Hasta La Raíz” (Live action)
Synopsis: Set in 1856 in the greater Los Angeles basin, a Gabrielino (Tongva) woman working on a Mexican rancho must protect herself against a squatter when the ranchero’s wife leaves to defend her own land grant.
“In the Garden of Tulips” (Live action)
Synopsis: At the height of the Iran-Iraq war, Caroline takes a final car ride with her father to the Iranian countryside.
“Las Mariachis” (Documentary)
Synopsis: In the male-dominated world of mariachi, the lead of an all-female mariachi band in Los Angeles battles for recognition and seeks to empower future generations of women in mariachi, hoping to forge her own legacy as a musician and a mother.
“Surrender to the Sound” (Documentary)
Synopsis: “Surrender to the Sound” is about Angel City FC’s unrivaled women’s soccer supporter groups, dubbed “La Fortaleza,” as they devotedly take on their second season. Through this primarily vérité film, the supporters stay loyal through loss, and not only redefine what it means to be a women’s soccer fan, but to represent Los Angeles.
“Ursa Minor” (Animation)
Synopsis: After struggling to be vulnerable with her overextended mother, Hazel's drawings help her express what she isn't able to say out loud.
“Where the Heart Lies” (Live action)
Synopsis: Based on a true story. When Hunter was little, his father prepared a magical treasure hunt for him in his rural Northern California hometown. Now that he is older, he is doing the same for his girlfriend, Kinsley.