LUNAFEST, a nationally-touring film festival that showcases short films by, for and about women, announces 11 unique films selected for the Missoula showing. The festival arrives at Missoula’s Wilma Theatre on Wednesday, March 24, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 or $5 for students, and can be purchased by calling 543.6691.

Eighty-five percent of the proceeds will benefit the YWCA’s GUTS! girls leadership program, with LUNAFEST’s national partner, the Breast Cancer Research Fund, receiving 15 percent.

“It’s so important for girls to have role models like the LUNAFEST filmmakers, and for them to know that the world is wide open for them to pursue their hopes and dreams,” said Jen Euell, GUTS director at YWCA Missoula.

According to Euell, the money raised will fund scholarships for GUTS! summer wilderness adventures for girls ages 11 to 18 whose families can’t afford the $300 fee.

This year’s LUNA line-up ranges from animation to fictional drama, and cover topics such as women’s health, immigration, body image, sexuality, cultural diversity and breaking barriers.

LUNAFEST was established in 2000 by LUNA, the makers of the Whole Nutrition Bar for Women, in order to promote women filmmakers, raise awareness about women’s issues, and raise money for worthy women’s nonprofits across the U.S. and Canada. LUNAFEST has grown from a single annual event to more than 140 film festivals each season, and has raised more than $470,000 for women’s nonprofits.

For more information about the films, visit www.lunafest.org:

• A Summer Rain, directed by Ela Thier (New York, N.Y.) – A young Israeli immigrant struggles with her transition to American life.
• Plastic, directed Sandy Widyanata (Bondi Beach, Australia) - A young woman redefines her self-image moments before a first date.
• Roz (and Joshua), directed by Charlene Music (Palo Alto, Calif.) – Separated from her son, Roz lives for the day they will reunite permanently.
• Monday Before Thanksgiving, directed by former Friends star Courtney Cox (West Hollywood, Calif.) – Through a chance encounter, a single woman learns that the life she lives is exactly what she wants.
• DIY: Emancipation 101, directed by Lynne Robinson (Lyndeborough, N.H.) – A playful animation about women and bicycling.
• The Kinda Sutra, directed by Jessica Yu (Santa Monica, Calif.) – How are babies made?
• Smitten, directed by Hasalyn Harris and Logan Modine (Missoula, Mont.) - A fictional story about a man’s obsession with a TV news anchorwoman.
• A Vida Politica, directed by Kat Mansoor (Brighton, England) – A Brazilian hairstylist explains how beauty can be a form of activism.
• Anjali, directed by Maya Anand (New York, N.Y.) – When Anjali becomes witness to her father’s betrayal, she must decide if she will share her secret and risk devastating her family
• Omlette, directed by Nadejda Koseva (Sofia, Bulgaria) – A mother battles with the challenges of inflation.
• The McCombie Way, directed by Kristina and Nick Higgins (Los Angeles, Calif.) – Words of wisdom from a mystic in the Mojave desert.