(Actress Angela Manfredonia in Tess McChesney Kunik’s moving and deeply personal film, Reasons I Want to Recover)

“In Reasons I Want to Recover, Kunik makes herself the focus of scenes that speak to the emotional struggles of disordered eating. In one scene, she crams a doughnut into her mouth, wild-eyed. In another, she grabs at the skin of her stomach while lowering herself into a cardboard box. In another, she’s duct-taped to a chair in her underwear, sitting in front of the fridge — powerless in the presence of food.”

–Mikala Jamison, Philadelphia City Paper

 (The creators of The Stonebirds, Merri Rashoyan, Tess McChesney Kunik, Layne Marie Williams, Aaron Lofton, and Campbell O’Hare)

“I’ve always surrounded myself with these incredible women in Philadelphia, and we wanted more opportunity to showcase our work,” said founder Layne Marie Williams, “It’s important for us to create our own opportunities, because I don’t think anyone will do it for us.”

–Molly Eichel, The Philadelphia Inquirer

 (Layne Marie Williams, Kayla O’Donnell, and Phuong Nguyen hard at work)

“The Women’s Film Festival is an ambitious three-day event. It includes 17 short films, several panels, a self-defense class, and many other components.”

–Nathan Lerner, Digital First Media