The 13th Annual YES Film Festival returns to downtown Columbus today through Sunday on two screens at 328 Jackson St.
And there’s plenty of local flavor among the 20 films amid shorts, narratives and documentaries, including:
Columbus native actor and Indianapolis resident Chris Bauman starring as Gomer Pyle in the film “Mayberry Man.”
Longtime local sculptor Robert Pulley as the subject of a 10-minute Hoosier-themed short film “Robert Pulley: A Glass Breakfast Interview.”
Columbus filmmaker Dustin Lowman’s short film “50-Cent Psychic.”
Lowman’s work has been a part of the festival in the past.
“Small indie filmmakers like myself don’t always have the resources or connections available to get projects on major streaming platforms or corporate-owned theaters,” Lowman said. “YES Fest is a huge deal to us little guys just wanting to entertain an audience, even if only for 200 seconds.”
He referenced his latest project, which lasts 200 seconds to honor the Columbus Area Bicentennial.
Columbus native Diane Mason, an award-winning filmmaker now living in Sarasota, again serves as artistic director of the festival that has grown its audience almost every year since it began.
“And the films this year are just incredible,” she said.
The entries are from all over the globe as they have been in the past at the event. One movie that earned Mason’s special attention is “After the Incident” from Iran. A young boy named Ruhollah is terribly hurt in a freak accident. When it appears he has lost everything, amazing souls appear to help.
“It’s such a beautiful story,” Mason said.
“Everything in the End,” about the last day on the planet, was filmed in Iceland.
Mason said that the broad range of films suits well the festival’s “super-sophisticated audience.” And yes, Mason said Lowman’s film is included in that group of entries.
“It’s very funny and a little whacky and whimsical,” she said, “And ‘A LOT’ of fun.”
