ISSUE #75
BEAM FROM THE BOOTH | GRAND RAPIDS FILM SOCIETY
[EDITED BY: GRIFFIN SHERIDAN & SPENCER EVERHART]
Hello and welcome back to an all-new, very special installment of BEAM FROM THE BOOTH brought to you by GRAND RAPIDS FILM SOCIETY!
This past Monday night, we celebrated TWO YEARS of the GRFS with a SOLD OUT screening of Nosferatu on 16mm film. This marks one of only a couple of GRFS screenings that have actually completely sold out, so it was a truly special night. THANK YOU to all who came out to celebrate with us, to projectionists Sean and Will (our Chiefs of Celluloid) for the evening, and — of course — to maestro Dutcher Snedeker for providing flawless accompaniment. The room seemed to be floating.
And that’s not all the fun we have for you this Hallo-week. TONIGHT (10/30) at 8pm, we’re hosting our final event of the month with a special 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY SCREENING of David Robert Mitchell’s IT FOLLOWS, followed by a live Q&A with the movie’s chief lighting technician Marc-Antoine Serou.
Before we get too far into YEAR 3, we wanted to use this issue to reflect on the past year of cinema and community. We hosted 53 events across a range of screenings and social happenings, each one a passionate attempt to give the Grand Rapids film community something memorable and worthwhile. Below you’ll find a timeline of the past year of programming and thoughts from various GRFS committee members on select events.
Enjoy!
A NOTE FROM GRFS PRESIDENT NICHOLAS HARTMAN
As I type this and begin reflecting on two years of GRFS, it honestly doesn’t feel real. Like, has it seriously already been two years? I feel like we just kicked this thing off, but — hey — you know what they say: “time flies when you’re having fun.”
I don’t know about y’all, but I’m having a blast. The past year we’ve continued to put on memorable events; events that, when I get home from a long day, I fall asleep thinking about with a smile on my face. There are multiple events to look back on and so many spinning in my head. The question, though, is which ones are echoing within my heart? Which events really impacted me? I can say without a doubt that two speak volumes.
Even though it just happened, I can’t tell you how much the last Open Projector Night: Halloween Edition meant to me. Not only did it cater to my favorite film genre, but it was our most-attended OPN to date. I remember taking the stage and looking out to an ocean of filmmakers/lovers and, honestly, I got kind of emotional. The first OPN ever put on had a total of six people in attendance...and that included me. Now, each OPN has well over 100 patrons — it’s continuously growing, and seeing the Michigan film scene grow means everything to me.
The other event I’d like to highlight is our screening of George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (1978) with Jeanie Jefferies. As everyone knows by now, I’m a horror fanatic. It’s not just a film genre to me, it’s a lifestyle — my religion. The fact that I got to sit on stage and host a Q&A with the “blonde zombie” Jeanie Jefferies is just crazy to me. I’m still pinching myself.
To everyone that continues to come out and support GRFS: thank you. We cannot do this without you, and I look forward to celebrating many more years of events with you all.
— Nick
GRFS YEAR 2: A LOOK BACK
NOVEMBER 2023
11/6: Touch of Evil [Noir-vember series]
11/11: Blood Simple [Noir-vember series]
11/15: Film Society Roundtable
11/16: Hayseed [GR Premiere with director Travis Burgess Q&A]
11/29: Open Projector Night
DECEMBER 2023
12/1: The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring [Costume Party]
What a beautiful sight this was: a packed house full of hobbits, orcs, and even the dark lord himself. As a big fan of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy as both a milestone in popular entertainment and cinematic craft, this one was so much fun to host.
— Griffin Sheridan
12/14: Film Society Roundtable
12/17: It’s A Wonderful Life [Presented on 16mm film]
JANUARY 2024
1/7: Enter the Dragon
1/10: Enter the Clones of Bruce [MI Premiere]
1/18: Film Society Pitch Night
1/20: The Shining
It’s one thing to have seen Kubrick’s monumental classic at home on numerous occasions...and it’s an absolutely whole other thing to witness it at Wealthy Theatre from one of the front rows. We love to rhapsodize about the ‘big screen experience’ or romanticize being in thrall to an overwhelming combo of image/sound, and it’s screenings like these where you really find the truth in such sentiments; for me, it truly felt like seeing the film for the first time all over again.
— Spencer Everhart
1/22: GRFS General Assembly Meeting
1/25: AAFF Touring Experimental Film Festival
FEBRUARY 2024
2/14: Phantom Thread [Valentine’s Day Screening]
2/24: Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me [Twin Peaks Day Costume Party]
MARCH 2024
3/1: Narrative Agency: Films by Kate Levy [Artist Showcase series]
3/20: Open Projector Night
3/21: Film Society Roundtable
3/24: Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
There are two events that stick out in my mind from the last year, and they act as prime examples of the two ends of the spectrum for why I love the Film Society.
The first one is Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, the film recently named the ‘greatest film of all time’ by Sight and Sound. Seeing it on the big screen with so many other people over the course of 202 uninterrupted minutes was one of the most moving experiences I’ve ever had in a theater. It’s not the kind of movie we program to get butts in seats but to offer those interested in the opportunity to see the best that cinema has to offer and to experience it together.
— Matt Everitt
APRIL 2024
4/1: The King of Comedy [April Fools’ Day Screening]
4/10: Marqueetown [GR Premiere with co-writer and director Joe Beyer Q&A ]
4/15: The Virgin Spring [Seasons of Bergman series]
4/30: Movie Trivia at Creston Brewery
MAY 2024
5/6: THX-1138
Listen. I shaved my head for this one. I’ll never forget sharing that with the 30-something of you who showed up to check out this truly unique, usually-forgotten masterpiece (?) from one of cinema’s most influential yet elusive voices. This was a truly gratifying experience.
— Griffin
5/10: The People’s Joker [GR Premiere with actor Nathan Faustyn Q&A]
The other event that sticks out in my mind is The People’s Joker. After being caught in distribution limbo for a year due to some strongly-worded emails from DC and Warner Bros., we hosted a screening with actor Nathan Faustyn and a packed house of eager viewers. Seeing so many people turn out for an irreverent, queer, and truly independent film had a big impact on me. I’m a solid old believer now that the future of cinema will be in films like this — and Hundreds of Beavers (another packed-house screening we hosted) — where small distributors can work with filmmakers and independent cinemas to screen exciting new work outside of the traditional system.
— Matt
5/13: Dawn of the Dead [45th Anniversary Screening with actress Jeanie Jefferies Q&A]
5/16: Film Society Roundtable
5/20: Belly [with Hype Williams music video pre-show and panel discussion featuring the Grand Rapids Hip Hop Coalition]
This exact event — sharing one of the most ravishingly beautiful films ever made, shown with a selection of Williams’ iconic/influential videos, AND accompanied by an illuminating conversation — was on my programming ‘wishlist’ since our very first day of planning screenings as GRFS. When this finally happened, after much planning and preparation, it was a dream come true!
— Spencer
5/21: Film Society Pitch Night
JUNE 2024
6/3: Hundreds of Beavers [GR Premiere]
6/9: Pride & Prejudice [Era-appropriate Costume Party]
6/17: She is Conan [MI Premiere]
6/24: Mad Max: The Road Warrior [Summer of Sequels series]
6/26: Open Projector Night - Jun. ‘24
JULY 2024
7/1: The Lost World: Jurassic Park [Summer of Sequels series]
7/15: The Godfather Part II [Summer of Sequels series / 50th Anniversary Screening]
7/16: Rough Cut Night
7/24: Film Society Roundtable
7/25: The Terminator [Art House Theatre Day / 40th Anniversary Screening]
7/29: Gremlins 2: The New Batch [Summer of Sequels series]
AUGUST 2024
8/5: Smiles of a Summer Night [Seasons of Bergman series]
8/19: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly [Summer of Sequels series]
When Sergio Leone finally arrives — after stretching to the edges of his epic canvas — at the climactic sequence of Tuco (“the Ugly”) endlessly running laps around that cemetery, driven into a frenzy by the ecstasy of gold, with the images smearing into near-abstraction...and Ennio Morricone’s score seemingly pushing Wealthy Theatre’s speaker system to its limits...I could have sworn the entire room was spinning too; dizzying and dazzling in equal measure.
— Spencer
8/26: Sanjuro [Summer of Sequels series]
8/30: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre [50th Anniversary Screening]
SEPTEMBER 2024
9/9: The Color of Money [Summer of Sequels series]
9/16: Girlfriends
9/21: Vulcanizadora [GR Premiere with Q&A featuring cast, crew, and writer/director Joel Potrykus Q&A]
I'm proud of what we've accomplished in our 2nd year of programming for the Grand Rapids Film Society! As I look back at the events and screenings we've held since our one year anniversary, it's a little sad to see how many I missed due to work and life's general business. Despite the events I missed, I'm pleased with the events I was able to attend, and I want to highlight an event I will never forget.
Putting the GRAND RAPIDS in the Film Society, it was truly special to hold the hometown premiere of Vulcanizadora at Wealthy Theatre! Okay, yes, this is an extremely biased highlight (I was the Assistant Director on the film), but I'm glad we were able to partner with the Grand Rapids Film Festival to present the first public screening of this Grand Rapids film with another Grand Rapids feature, Walter, Grace, and the Submarine right before it! Sob Noisse has been touring the world with Vulcanizadora starting with its world premiere in New York City at the Tribeca Festival and an international premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, QB...but there's nothing like watching a film with friends, family, and local film enthusiasts in the city the film takes place in. The Q&A with a full stage of cast and crew members was a fantastic finale for the night!
— Jackson Ezinga
9/24: Film Society Pitch Night
9/30: Rushmore [School Supplies Drive]
At the end of September, with back-to-school season still fresh in the air, the Grand Rapids Film Society decided they wanted to partner with high-needs schools in the area in order to make a difference. Campus Elementary school is just a five-minute walk from Wealthy Theatre, and it is full of teachers, staffers, and parents who are doing their best with limited supplies to provide the best learning experiences for the students who go there. This fundraiser was not only a fantastic opportunity to provide art supplies for local students, but to also an incredible chance for GRFS to showcase the power of the community we have been building over these past few years. With a goal of raising $300 for Ms. Hanna's art room, our amazing audience at Rushmore was able to pull together and double that amount to donate $600 to her classroom! As our community continues growing, its strength and capabilities become all the more inspiring as we become a significant institution in the Grand Rapids area.
— Kyle Macciomei
OCTOBER 2024
10/7: The Beyond
10/11: Carrie [Prom-theme costume party]
The Calebs on prom night <3 10/16: Open Projector Night: Halloween Edition 2024
10/28: Nosferatu [Presented on 16mm film, featuring live accompaniment by Dutcher Snedeker]
***
Year 2 of GRFS activity has been a source of immense pride and satisfaction for me. On a purely personal level, I am so grateful for the opportunity to screen films that I’ve had a direct part in nominating and programming: Enter the Dragon and the Michigan premiere of Enter the Clones of Bruce (Lee, that is), The Virgin Spring and Smiles of a Summer Night (the first half of our ongoing four-part Seasons of Bergman series), and Sanjuro’s inclusion in our Summer of Sequels celebration. What a thrill I’ve felt being able to help present these great movies that I enjoy so much to appreciative audiences! It feels like a dream come true, and I don’t expect that sensation to fade at all no matter how many more of my personal favorites I’ll be able to bring to Wealthy Theatre.
I also appreciated the time I spent doing background research and prepping to share my thoughts in opening remarks for last year’s ‘Noir-vember’ pairing of Touch of Evil and Blood Simple. I am always informed, entertained, and drawn into a more perceptive mindset when I hear my GRFS colleagues and occasional guest speakers give their inspiring presentations right before the lights go down. These heartfelt observations provide the perfect set-up for viewers to find extra value and resonance in the films we’re about to see. I’m glad to have the chance myself to validate the attendance of each audience member and hopefully make their experience of the film all the more rewarding, wherever the creators try to take us through our interactions with their work.
But beyond just the role that I’ve had in various GRFS events, my biggest takeaway from Year 2 is most definitely the sense of excitement about what we’ve been able to do so far — and the anticipation that we have bigger, better, and cooler things to look forward to as we get into Year 3! Whether it’s been a packed house with substantial portions of attendees in costume (LOTR, Twin Peaks: FWWM), incredible indie discoveries (The People’s Joker, Hundreds of Beavers, She is Conan), showcases for local talent (our OPN mini-fests which just keep getting bigger and bolder with each new edition; the Rough Cut and Pitch Nights), or unforgettable showings of some of GRFS committee members’ most cherished personal favorites (The Shining, Jeanne Dielman, Girlfriends, Belly, and Rushmore all stand out in my memory as particularly impactful) — it’s all kind of astonishing to recall as my eye travels over the list of movies we’ve been privileged to bring to Grand Rapids.
And I’m genuinely astonished at the momentum that’s been generated by some of our more recent gatherings, even those that I wasn’t able to attend! The incredible effort put into creating uniquely enhanced, celebratory atmospheres for shows like Phantom Thread, Pride and Prejudice, and Carrie — along with numerous other titles already mentioned — has set a high bar, but I’m confident that we have a lot more fun stuff along that line in store for the months ahead. It’s truly difficult for me to identify a single “best” moment or memory from GRFS 2023-24...just too much awesomeness to analytically process it all!
— David Blakeslee
***
As the GRFS moves into YEAR 3, we have but one goal: to continually improve the ways in which we serve YOU — the film fans and filmmakers of Grand Rapids (and beyond).
Here’s to another year at the movies.
We’ll see you there. 🖤
UPCOMING EVENTS
IT FOLLOWS (Mitchell, 2014)
WHAT: SPECIAL 10th ANNIVERSARY SCREENING! After a carefree teenager sleeps with her new boyfriend for the first time, she learns that she is the latest recipient of a fatal curse that is passed from victim to victim via sexual intercourse. Join us for this contemporary classic on Devil’s Night!
WHEN: TONIGHT! Wednesday, October 30th, 8:00pm
WHERE: Wealthy Theatre
AUTUMN SONATA (Bergman, 1978)
WHAT: Part of our SEASONS OF BERMAN SERIES. A primary example of Bergman’s late mature style, Autumn Sonata holds a series of cathartic moments for viewers who empathize with the turmoil and regret that exists within so many parent/child relationships.
WHEN: Monday, November 4th, 8:00pm
WHERE: The Wealthy Theatre
And so we’ve arrived at the end of another BEAM FROM THE BOOTH! We appreciate you taking the time to read it and truly hope you’ll continue to do so. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to get each issue in your inbox every week, and stay up-to-date on all things GRFS.
Plus, join us on social media! We’d love to chat with everyone and hear YOUR OWN thoughts on everything above (you can also hop in the comments section below).
Know someone you think will dig BEAM FROM THE BOOTH? Send them our way!
Look for ISSUE #76 in your inbox NEXT WEEK!
Until then, friends...
