A scene from the feature film ” Dawn, Her Dad, and the Tractor” to be part of the upcoming YES Film Festival.
Marilyn Richardson had no idea that three or four minutes of her time could open her eyes to so much — or even clearly change her perspective on a topic.
But the annual YES Film Festival short movies have done just that for the Columbus resident almost every year she has seen one or more.
“The shorts are really such wonderful little snippets,” said Richardson, a big supporter of the festival and its nonprofit organizer of Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center.
Audiences can judge for themselves when the latest set of 24 movies hit the big screen Oct. 28-30 at YES Cinema, 328 Jackson St. in downtown Columbus.
“When I found out YES was involved with all this, I thought it was marvelous,” Richardson said.
YES supports a range of programs for some of the city’s most economically challenged and most struggling families and individuals. Those efforts range from job training to parenting workshops to step-by-step assistance for first-time home buyers. Proceeds from the film fest, launched in 2010, support Lincoln-Central’s work.
Last year, amid a tough part of the COVID-19 pandemic, the three-day festival still attracted nearly 700 ticket buyers.
“We feel like as we were emerging from COVID restrictions, this was great,” said Diane Doup, community outreach coordinator for Lincoln-Central.
In the past, the event normally has drawn 800-plus people for feature films, documentaries, and shorts. Plus, this year highlights an added bonus: the screening of the 2003 Jack Nicholson-Diane Keaton film “Something’s Gotta Give” as the Columbus-based podcast called RomCom Love celebrates its 100th episode recording — right at YES.
Podcast hosts Bonnie Boatwright and Brittany Gray will discuss the movie with the live audience who has just watched the film.
Columbus native Diane Mason, a Florida filmmaker who is the volunteer artistic director for the local fest, selected the independent entries in the event. This year, movies include “Us or Them,” a short production from North Carolina filmmaker Rob Underhill, whose work is distinguished enough to have appeared in the past at the Cannes Film Festival. Organizers say Underhill has been especially complimentary of the festival in the past.
“The short films that past couple of years have been exceptional,” Mason said.
The festival lineup also includes the documentary, “The Big Story: George Taliaferro,” highlighting the former IU star and the first black player ever drafted by the NFL, in 1949. Taliaferro, who died in 2018, spoke at a Columbus event in 2012 and shared some of his experiences with race and more.
“This story — well, you’ll just cry through it,” Mason said. “It’s really so beautiful.”
A social justice theme also is part of the feature film “Playing Through,” in which black golfer Ann Gregory finds the courage to be the first woman of color to enter the USGA Women’s Amateur.
Mason mentioned that it’s difficult to tell if the festival will easily return to its earlier drawing power. But she said she realizes it regularly needs to attract those who perhaps have never been to YES.
“We definitely always like to see new faces,” she said.
About the festival
What: Annual YES Film Festival, featuring 24 movies ranging from features to shorts to documentaries
When: Various times Oct. 28-30
Where: YES Cinema, 328 Jackson St. in downtown Columbus
Schedule and tickets: yesfilmfestival.com
