On Friday and Saturday, April 3 and 4, the Yellow Springs Film Festival’s Mini-Fest is returning to the village and beyond with a slate of cinematic programming.
The weekend begins in Yellow Springs at Little Art Theatre, where three Ohio-centric indie films will make their statewide premieres on the festival’s opening day. All three films were made in Ohio or were shot by filmmakers from the state.
The next day, renowned actor, singer and author Sandra Bernhard will headline the Mini-Fest and will take the stage at The Brightside, in Dayton, for a moderated conversation and Q&A with YS Film Fest founder and occasional village resident Eric Mahoney.
Now in its third year, the annual Mini-Fest is a way to drum up mid-year excitement for the forthcoming full YS Film Festival — returning to Yellow Springs for its fourth year in October — Mahoney told the News earlier this week.
“We’re six months out from the big festival,” he said. “So this Mini-Fest is kind of like a reminder that we haven’t gone anywhere, we will be back, and for now, here are some cool movies that just came out of Sundance.”
Showing at Little Art Theatre at 3:30 p.m. on the first day of the Mini-Fest is “Union County,” directed by Adam Meeks. Set in the shadow of the opioid epidemic in central Ohio — where director Meeks lived until he was 6 — the film stars Will Poulter as the film’s protagonist, a man taking life one day at a time as part of his county-mandated drug court program.
Next up at 5:45 p.m. is “The Bulldogs,” directed by Noah Dixon and Ori Segev. The film follows residents of East Palestine, Ohio, over the course of a year following the 2023 train derailment that wrought environmental havoc in the small community. A Q&A with the directors will follow the screening.
Rounding out the first day is the screening of “Freelance,” directed by Julien and Justen Turner. Shot as a narrative series, “Freelance” follows a young filmmaker who documents his journey toward his first movie as he moves in with a friend group of ambitious creatives. A Q&A with the directors will follow the screening.
The second day of the Mini-Fest moves to Dayton — an intentional decision, Mahoney said, to broaden YS Film Fest’s reach and to engage with the wider Miami Valley audiences.
“In the end, we’re trying to grow our visibility — to bring more people to the village for the festival in the fall,” Mahoney explained.
He’s confident that Saturday evening’s live conversation with actor Bernhard will do just that.
She’s been on the screen and stage for nearly five decades. Past television credits include “American Horror Story,” “POSE,” “Broad City,” “Difficult People,” “2 Broke Girls,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Will & Grace,” “The Sopranos” and “Roseanne.” She was also in the Martin Scorsese-directed film “The King of Comedy,” opposite Robert De Niro, for which she won Best Supporting Actress by the National Society of Film Critics. She is currently cast to film Season 4 of “The White Lotus.”
“I just love her work, I always have,” Mahoney said. “I don’t remember a time when I didn’t know who she was. I think she’s just wildly talented, and watching her as an impressive conversationalist give such thoughtful interviews has made me really, really excited to talk to her.”
Mahoney gave a nod to the present state of the world — “With no shortage of sadness and heaviness these days,” he said. — and stressed the importance of carving our space in our lives to gather and commune in art. Going to the movies, he said, is a great way to connect with one another.
“So, you know, set aside all the bad stuff for a few hours, and lean into and engage with art — maybe have a thought-provoking conversation, heal and connect,” Mahoney said. “That’s been the mission statement of the YS Film Festival all along: to provide space to connect with each other, ourselves and all of humanity.”
Tickets for the three films screening at Little Art Theatre on Friday, April 3, can be purchased a la carte at http://www.ysfilmfest.com/2026-minifest, with ticket prices beginning at $15.18. Tickets for the moderated conversation, Q&A and meet-and-greet with Sandra Bernhard begin at $44.52 and can also be purchased at ysfilmfest.com/2026-minifest. That event will take place on Saturday, April 4, 7-9:30 p.m., at The Brightside, 905 E. Third St. in Dayton.
On Saturday, March 14, the door to Clifton’s Senior Center opened and closed in a consistent rhythm as villagers wandered in, greeting neighbors and drifting toward a table of snacks. They were all there to celebrate a collective victory: Clifton’s mail was back in town.
The celebration capped off nearly three months of uncertainty following a difficult announcement late last year: With the winter holidays approaching, the U.S. Postal Service notified the village that the Clifton Post Office would close Dec. 26.
“It hit us, out of the blue, two weeks before Christmas,” Clifton Village Council member Paula Lazorski said.
The closure stemmed from a long-running lease issue with the building that housed the post office — specifically, that the owner of the land on which the post office sat had not signed an updated lease since 2019.
Longtime postmaster Joyce Magill said she attempted for several years to persuade the landowner to resolve the situation, but was unsuccessful — in fact, Magill said, she was never able to make direct contact with the landowner. With the lease still unresolved, the Postal Service made its decision to close the location, but the timing and quick closure caught Clifton residents off guard.
Most Clifton residents received their mail through post office boxes; only a small number have rural route mailboxes at their homes. When the post office closed, those who held Clifton boxes were told to retrieve their mail in Yellow Springs, and though Yellow Springs is only a handful of miles away, it was a change that created a significant challenge for some residents, according to Clifton Village Council President Anthony Satariano.
“For the seniors in particular, it was a huge inconvenience,” he said, and added that the closure arrived without any consultation with Clifton’s Village leadership.
“[USPS] said they were conducting a study,” he said, “We’re on Council; nobody reached out to us to say, ‘Is there an alternative? What are your options? Here’s what’s coming.’ Nothing.”
Nevertheless, an alternative presented itself in Clifton’s former firehouse, which is attached to the Senior Center and was previously leased to Miami Township Fire-Rescue. Last year Satariano, on behalf of Clifton Village Council, petitioned Miami Township Trustees to terminate the lease so that the building could one day house the growing Preservation Society of Clifton, and the trustees agreed. Having the space available was the first saving grace for residents following the post office’s closure.
The second is that, in Clifton, neighbors tend to work together to make things happen; with just under 150 residents and a smaller pool of repeat volunteers, the village nonetheless coordinates and hosts weekly music performances — currently at Clifton Presbyterian Church, until Clifton Opera House’s renovation is completed in December — and a large, annual music and arts festival. With similar elbow grease and determination, within weeks, the new village mail station began to take shape.
The Village purchased materials, and residents Jim Fiessinger and Lee Nicewaner handled the construction.
“It was an open, bare room,” Lazorski said. “And they put up furring strips. They put up the siding. They did all the electric, the lighting.”
Villagers worked together to install their post office boxes, which they had removed from the old post office, into the new space. Fiessinger, who does woodworking, carved a wooden American flag that hangs on one wall, over a small table and chair that invites folks to stay a while for conversation within the now-climate-controlled room. Parcel lockers were added so residents could receive larger packages. Lighting and electrical equipment were donated by Baker Electric. A bulletin board gives residents a place to post notices. Soon, a new sign designed by a villager will adorn the station’s outer wall.
During the mail station’s opening celebration last weekend, villagers acknowledged that the party was bittersweet: Though the post office boxes will now remain in Clifton, the new mail station doesn’t offer full postal services, and residents must still travel elsewhere to buy stamps or send packages.
“We’ve tried to make it as independent as possible, but we do have limitations,” Lazorski said.
More importantly to residents, however, is that the closing of the post office meant the forced retirement of postmaster Magill.
“Anywhere else, she would just be the postmaster, but to us, she’s Joyce — she’s a wonderful person, she’s part of our community,” Satariano said. “So we took it personally when they kicked her out of her job.”
Magill said that within her nearly 20 years as postmaster, folks from nearby towns would routinely travel to the Clifton post office to mail packages or buy postage, particularly on the weekend.
“They didn’t have to wait in line here,” she said.
And, Lazorski added, the people were friendly — the post office was a kind of daily meeting place for community members to say “hello,” ask after family and catch up. She said she hopes the new mailing station will be, too.
“Really, it’s not even much smaller than the post office was,” Lazorski said, looking around the new mailing station. “It’s great.”
Satariano added: “It takes a village.”
75 years ago: 1951
Trailside. “A permit for construction of the projected Glen Helen ‘Trailside Museum’ on Corry St. was granted this week by Village Council’s building committee.”
Swim where? “Community Council’s swim committee chairman Don Barnett said today that twenty-one swimmers have enjoyed each of the last two community swim periods, being held each Wednesday in the Wilberforce State College pool.”
Soil study. “Announcement of a $2,000 grant to Antioch College to compare the effects of chemical and organic fertilizers on soil and crops was made this week.”
Ping pong and volleyball. “Bryan High School’s third annual volleyball and ping pong tournament will be held at the school’s gym Friday night with seven Greene County schools competing.”
50 years ago: 1976
Library turns 75 … or 10. “A week-long celebration … will commemorate two anniversaries – the Yellow Springs Library Association’s 75 years and the Library’s ten-year history since dedicating its present building.”
Trash or art? “Village Manager Bruce Rickenbach invites comments from the public on the new trash can in front of Little Art Theatre.”
Affordable housing. “Greene Metropolitan Housing Authority’s Corry and Dayton streets rent subsidy housing projects have been approved by the U.S. Dept of Housing and Urban Affairs, director Donna Denman announced last week. … The projects call for 15 housing units on Corry St. … and two on the empty lot at the northeast corner of the junction of Dayton and Winter streets.”
35 years ago: 1991
Census drop. “Yellow Springs’ population declined by about 3 percent during the last ten years. … Most of that decrease has been in the village’s minority population.”
Golf course buy-back. “Antioch College once again owns the local-landmark Antioch ‘golf course.’ … The Village bought the golf course from Antioch in 1981 [for $134,400]. … The original deal was that Antioch would pay that price, plus interest: 7% compounded annually. … The Village agreed to forget the interest, and sell… back for the original price. … Antioch agreed to use the land only for ‘educational purposes’ … and granted the Village water [well drilling] rights in the southern part of Glen Helen.”
Mission work. “Sister Teresa E. Alexander, a Maryknoll Missioner, is here in Yellow Springs for a two-week visit with family and friends. She will be returning to mission work in El Salvador in early May.”
Bulldogs won! “Yellow Springs vs. Cedarville, for the [basketball] sectional tournament championship … Victory! Yellow Springs 62, Cedarville 61 – in overtime. The Bulldogs are champions of the sectional.”
25 years ago: 2001
Downtown. “Or you might feel just plain mad because you can’t find a parking space and you have to wait forever to buy a bagel. … ‘Most cities, let alone villages, would kill to have this sort of vibrant downtown. … Most towns would want a parking problem. It’s a good kind of problem to have.’ [said Mikey Chlanda].”
Chili cook-off. “John Graham and his St. Patrick’s fire green chili captured both the judges’ first place award and the People’s Choice award at the seventh annual McKinney School Chili Cook-off Saturday, March 17th. Chris Rainey was a close second with his Punjabi chili, and the team of Kayla Graham and Morgan Laurens won the student prize.”
One less stop light in town. “As part of the Dayton Street reconstruction project, the Village plans to remove the traffic signal at the corner of Dayton and Corry streets this week. The signal will be replaced by a three-way stop.”
Ten years ago: 2016
Spring primary. “Two Yellow Springs residents are throwing themselves into the state political fray this year. Brian Housh is gunning for a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives and Matthew Kirk is making a bid for a recently vacated seat in the State Senate.”
New Antioch prez. “New Antioch College President Thomas Manley began his position earlier this week and is now on campus. … Manley is only the second president of the reborn Antioch College, succeeding Mark Roosevelt, who left at the end of December. … The college’s path since it reopened in 2009 has been ‘distinctive and brave,’ Manley said.”
Upgrade internet? “A municipal fiber network would bring new jobs and business to the village, Village Council members were recently advised. … Yellow Springs has a particular need for a municipal fiber network due to the number of villagers who work at home. … There are about 195 home-based businesses in the village, up 35% in the last 15 years.”
The Greene County Engineer’s Office announced earlier this week that a stretch of Yellow Springs-Fairfield Road will be closed from Monday, March 30 through Friday, April 10.
The road will be closed from where it meets North Walnut Street to where it intersects with U.S. 68. That section of Fairfield runs alongside the northern section of Millworks, DeWine Pond, Flying Mouse Farm and the Miami Township Cemetery.
According to the announcement, crews will be upgrading bridge rails along the road.
A detour will be posted using U.S. 68, Dayton Street and North Walnut Street. Access for all adjacent property owners will be maintained throughout the project.
Motorists should expect delays and are encouraged to seek alternate routes.
An unlucky day for quite a few Ohioans — on Friday, the 13th, a dramatic windstorm knocked out power for more than 100,000 folks throughout the state, according to the National Weather Service.
The day’s highest wind speed, recorded by the Wilmington, Ohio, NWS forecast office, occurred not far from Yellow Springs, at the Dayton International Airport, where a gust of 77 miles per hour was recorded.
Yellow Springs was far from immune to the weekend’s impressive wind speeds. Between Friday and Monday, several neighborhoods temporarily lost power; fallen trees caused considerable residential and municipal damage; and downtown, awnings on several storefronts were torn asunder.
A memo from Electric and Water Distribution Superintendent Ben Sparks — delivered via Assistant Village Manager Elyse Giardullo at the Monday, March 16, Village Council meeting — addressed the Village response to the power outages, which began at 1 p.m. Friday.
“Our crews worked continuously until approximately 11 p.m. restoring service,” Sparks wrote, noting the difficult conditions still occurring when crews went to address the downed lines, almost exclusively caused by fallen branches, Sparks’ memo stated.
“Additional work continued through the weekend,” Sparks added. “On Saturday, our crew returned to complete a repair project that required running entirely new wire in order to restore service to one remaining customer. Then, on Sunday, another outage occurred when tree branches fell onto a line that caused multiple customers to lose power. Crews again responded and restored service.”
On Monday, as winds continued to flare, similar issues occurred, and Village crews again worked to restore service, Sparks reported.
Though several neighborhood pockets in the south end of town lost power more than once over the last week, the northern reaches of town saw the greatest physical damage from the wind — particularly the Fair Acres neighborhood.
Whitehall Drive resident Karen Nelson had a close call. The day’s high winds knocked over a massive oak tree on her property — its branches rending the roof, rafters and joists at one end of her house.
“It was cataclysmic,” Nelson said earlier this week. “I was standing in my bedroom, there was a loud noise, and the ceiling blew apart. I froze in place. Then it was quiet. I got a minor bump in the head and walked out without a scratch.”
Though the state of her home on Whitehall is a different story, Nelson said she is able to continue to live there, as she can close the door on the damaged rooms.
She added that friends, neighbors and local handymen arrived to the scene quickly, and Nelson said she’s grateful that no one was harmed with the oak fell.
“I feel like I’ve walked away from a plane crash,” she said.
On the south side of town, village resident Katleen Tong had a 100-year-old tree fall on her and her roommate’s cars on Friday, March 13.
While Nelson said her insurance will likely take care of her tree-related woes, Tong started a GoFundMe page to help her plight, stating: “My homeowner’s insurance is refusing to pay anything for the tree removal. … I am responsible for paying a tree company to remove the tree, cut it up and haul it away. As an inner city teacher, I live paycheck to paycheck and simply do not have that kind of money.”
To help Tong, go to http://www.bit.ly/3NcOu6e
Even a Village public works vehicle sustained damage from the weekend’s storms.
As Assistant Village Manager Elyse Giardullo recounted at the Monday, March 16, Village Council meeting, while Village crews addressed a fallen tree-related situation along the bike path, a tree fell on a public works truck — partially crushing the truck’s bed.
“The most important thing to note is that no one was hurt,” Giardullo said at Monday’s meeting. “We’re filing an insurance claim, and while I thought it was a total loss, [Village Manager] Johnnie Burns doesn’t think so.”
Despite all this damage from the windstorms, Superintendent Sparks maintains that the consequences could have been a lot worse.
“One important takeaway from this event is that the aggressive approach we have taken in maintaining and improving our electric infrastructure is proving to be effective,” Sparks wrote. “We had zero broken poles. In comparison to some of our neighboring communities, we were able to restore the majority of our electric service within six hours of the storm’s highest winds.”
The Village encourages residents to download and use the YSConnect mobile app — not only for emergency situation updates, but also to report power outages and other crises. The YSConnect app can be downloaded via any mobile device’s application store. For further instructions, go to http://www.yellowsprings.gov
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