The First Annual Lady Filmmakers Film Festival will be held at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica onOctober 17-18, 2009.

Lady Filmmakers Film Festival honors Nia Peeples with the very first Trailblazer Award this Saturday October 17th at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The dinner gala is the Mary Magdalene Project annual fundraiser and awards dinner for the film festival. Ms. Peeples is also going to be one of the panelists at the festival on Sunday October 18th.

Film topics vary widely, with several comedies, dramas, romance, mystery, documentaries and one animated film selected.  Recognizable actors star in a few of the films such as Laura Dern, Danny Glover, and Clancy Brown to name a few. The filmmakers themselves range from famous names such as Courtney Cox to complete unknowns. They hail from the UK, France, Canada, Australia, and theUS, and have filmed in countries as diverse as Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, India, China, Iran, Mexico andRussia.

The unifying thread throughout the films selected is that they were all made by at least one woman in the position of writer, director, producer, or cinematographer. The festival celebrates the collaboration between men and women.

The participating films have been arranged into five screening programs.  Films will be screened from10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, the 17th and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, the 18th.  Tickets to each set of film screenings are $10 at the door.  Half of the net ticket sales go to the festival's charity sponsor, the Mary Magdelene Projct (MMP). Discounted tickets are available in advance online.

LOCATION OF SCREENINGS: Aero Theatre: 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, CA, 90403

For more information, including a detailed screenings schedule, please visit www.ladyfilmmakers.comor call 310-601-7956.