ISSUE #100
BEAM FROM THE BOOTH | GRAND RAPIDS FILM SOCIETY
[EDITED BY: SPENCER EVERHART & GRIFFIN SHERIDAN]
Welcome to our 100th ISSUE of BEAM FROM THE BOOTH, the official newsletter of the GRAND RAPIDS FILM SOCIETY (goodness, how the time flies). This very special issue marks the beginning of a new era for the newsletter that we are really excited about. More on that in a moment, first...
Those who have been following along with us for some time now have no doubt read about the origins of Beam, how proud we are of it, and so on and so forth. For those who have not, the brief origin story: When I (hi, it’s Griffin) first came aboard the GRFS committee in the first couple months of its existence, the very first thing I proposed to our president Nick Hartman was a newsletter — a way to keep the community updated on everything we’d be doing, sure, but also an outlet to engage with all of you in a way we cannot at our events. So far, we’ve been doing that through some incredible writing from the committee and other members of the GR film community...and beyond! And now that we have reached this milestone of 100 issues, I — alongside my trusty co-editor Spencer Everhart and the rest of committee — have agreed it’s time to give the newsletter a bit of a structural update.
For a while now we’ve had a few new goals in mind for the newsletter:
Make it more digestible; something you could read as soon as it arrives in your inbox rather than something you may need to make time for later.
While we remain very proud of everything we have shared in the previous 99 issues, it is not lost on us that sometimes the issues can get quite lengthy. That was a symptom of us striving to give readers a really rounded and fulfilling reading experience with every issue. While we still hope you find each issue satisfying, we also want to make sure you even READ the whole thing. We felt we were actually getting less eyes on all the great writing in our issues because of how long they would sometimes end up being.
Moving forward, we’ll (more or less) be highlighting a single piece of writing in each issue rather than multiple. We’re confident in the level of quality our contributors turn in that we feel these more succinct issues will be just as entertaining, thought-provoking, informative, and satisfying as our previous issues. (It is not lost on me that I’m doing a lot of logistic rambling in an issue that is meant to kick-off a more streamlined format, but stick with me!)
Give it a graphic update.
This is a small but effective one. To start, we’ll be introducing a new banner at the head of our issues as well as new ‘line break’ graphics, thumbnails, and more. In a similar vein, we hope to share more visual-centric features in this new era, whether that is through columns like “Echoes” or video essays and other concepts.
Open it up to the community more!
Beam and GRFS only exist to serve the community. While we have always been open to submissions from the community, we are making a push to include even more from all of you in the newsletter. Now, community members who feel they have something they would like to share through the newsletter can start that process by filling out our BFTB Submissions Inquiry Form, linked below and at the end of each issue moving forward.
Have fun.
And, lastly, we want to find ways to add a bit more fun and personality to the newsletter. Again, this is not to say that it has been devoid of these things until now — but we have a few ideas we think will work even better in this new format we’re kicking off here in issue #100...and we will share those very, very soon.
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That about sums it up! As always: thank you for subscribing, thank you for reading, and thank you for supporting the Grand Rapids Film Society.
With all that out of the way — welcome to the new Beam from the Booth. We’re going to keep the love for the newsletter going with this look-back on our first 100 issues.
REFLECTING ON 100 ISSUES OF BEAM FROM THE BOOTH
[BY: SPENCER EVERHART]
Wow. We're actually here. I think when we started Beam from the Booth, this milestone felt like an optimistic dream...then, somewhere along the way, it became more and more an achievable goal...and now that ambitious vision is suddenly a reality! It's hard to believe Griffin and I have scheduled, organized, commissioned, formatted, edited, and published one hundred of these things.
This past week, on our social media channels, GRFS took a proud look back at the first ninety-nine issues with an assorted collection of pieces that highlight the wide range of features we've strived to showcase with this publication. As I dug into the archives to compile that retrospective, it struck me just how many people have been involved with — or connected to — Beam. It has been such a joy to build that network of film folks; getting to know old friends better through their writing; learning from new friends through their passions and perspectives; discovering new facets of the art and craft of cinema by spotlighting filmmakers themselves (via Open Projector Night and otherwise).
In that spirit, I cannot let this celebratory moment pass without acknowledging GRFS president Nick Hartman for his enthusiastic support right from the beginning, my fellow committee members for their wonderful contributions and willingness to always provide new ideas...and — of course — my brilliant co-editor Griffin for being the best collaborator I could ask for (always making this whole process fun).
Whether you're a long-time subscriber or have only recently joined us on this journey, we appreciate your interest and engagement more than you know. I believe a healthy, vibrant, and thriving film culture is one that not only brings a community together with screenings and other gatherings but also through the expressive potential of the written word.
We've done our best to provide an outlet for that with this newsletter over the past two years, and we're tremendously excited to keep it going strong with the new changes that Griffin described in his piece above. Thank you so much for reading, here's to a new era — and one hundred more!
UPCOMING EVENTS
DINNER IN AMERICA (Rehmeier, 2020)
[MAY’D IN MICHIGAN]
SPECIAL GUEST: gaffer Marc-Antoine Serou!
WHEN: Monday, May 19th, 8:00pm
WHERE: The Wealthy Theatre
ROUGH CUT NIGHT
[FREE SOCIAL EVENT]
WHEN: Tuesday, May 20th, 6:00pm
WHERE: Koning MicroCinema (in The Wealthy Theatre)
ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT (Daniels, 2001)
[MAY’D IN MICHIGAN]
SPECIAL GUEST: cinematographer Rich Brauer!
WHEN: Wednesday, May 28th, 8:00pm
WHERE: The Wealthy Theatre
We appreciate you taking the time to read this installment of BEAM and truly hope you’ll continue to do so. Be sure to subscribe to get a new issue in your inbox every week.
Plus, join us on social media, where the conversation is always happening, and you can get the most immediate updates from GRFS.
Know someone you think will dig BEAM FROM THE BOOTH? Send them our way!
And if YOU would like to contribute a piece to an upcoming issue, we highly encourage you to send us an inquiry.
Look for ISSUE #101 in your inbox NEXT WEEK!
Until then, friends...
