Midday Music host Evan Miller spoke with filmmaker Eric Mahoney about the inaugural Yellow Springs Film Festival, which will be held October 6-8, 2023. Mahoney organized the festival, and joined Evan by phone to talk about the film screenings and guest appearances planned for the event. The Yellow Springs Film Festival will feature films in three categories – feature documentary, feature narrative, and shorts – as well as a host of special events. Screenings and filmmaker talks will be held at two locations in the village, the Little Art Theatre and the Foundry Theater.
When Eric moved back to Ohio to live in Yellow Springs, he saw an opportunity. “It occurred to me after moving back [to Yellow Springs] almost two years ago that this is the kind of environment that a lot of film festivals thrive in,” he told Evan. “It’s an art-centric community, and I think that there is a need for more art programming and more in-person events in a post-covid world.” Originally planned as a “modest” undertaking, the film festival has attracted an impressive roster of films and guest speakers since its inception.
In the interview, Eric highlighted several special events and speakers planned for the festival. The weekend will begin on Friday, October 6, with a screening of Celia Aniskovich’s documentary film, Taking Back The Groove. The film chronicles disco musician Richie Weeks’ struggle to recover the legal rights to his songs, and examines issues of exploitation and intellectual property law. The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with Richie Weeks and director Aniskovich, as well as Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon, who produced the film.
On October 7, Peabody Award-winning actor Fred Armisen will deliver a talk about music and comedy, followed by a screening of 32 Sounds, an immersive documentary by Oscar-nominated director Sam Green. The screenings of 32 Sounds will be accompanied by a public conversation between Sam Green and filmmaker Steven Bognar, who lives in Yellow Springs.
In addition to showing work by national and international filmmakers, the Yellow Springs Film Festival will feature several special events honoring the significant contributions of local artists. On October 7 and 8, a retrospective of filmmaker Julia Reichert’s work will be on display for the public at Crome Architecture Studio in the village. The exhibit will feature movie posters, black and white photography, and selected film work by Reichert, who died in 2022. A pioneering documentarian, Reichert received two Primetime Emmy awards, four Academy Award nominations, and two Peabody Award nominations. Her 2019 film American Factory, co-directed with partner Steven Bognar, won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. The festival will also highlight the work of one of Dayton’s best-known musical acts, Guided by Voices, with a 40 year retrospective of the band's work, held on October 7. The retrospective will include a screening of Watch Me Jumpstart, the 2003 documentary about the band.
A full schedule of films, events, and guest speakers for the Yellow Springs Film Festival is available at YSfilmfest.com. Tickets to individual films and events, as well as weekend passes, are also available. Some special events have already sold out; more ticketing information is available on the festival website.
