ISSUE #86
BEAM FROM THE BOOTH | GRAND RAPIDS FILM SOCIETY
[EDITED BY: GRIFFIN SHERIDAN & SPENCER EVERHART]
Hello and welcome back to an all-new installment of BEAM FROM THE BOOTH brought to you by GRAND RAPIDS FILM SOCIETY!
TONIGHT (1/27) at 7pm, MICHAEL MANN-UARY comes to a thrilling conclusion with 2004’s COLLATERAL!
Join us for the finale of this series, featuring all the Mann staples: money, crime, and a man who just wants to get out.
In this issue, we finally get a chance to share our conversation with local filmmaker ishkwaazhe Shane McSauby, and our coverage of the 2025 awards season continues in the wake of this year’s Oscar nominations announcement.
Check it out.
FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
ishkwaazhe SHANE MCSAUBY
OPEN PROJECTOR NIGHT NOV. ‘24 WINNER
[BY: NICHOLAS HARTMAN]
First and foremost, to our readers who don’t know who you are: who is ishkwaazhe Shane Mcsauby? Tell us about yourself!
Hi, I’m Shane. I was born and raised in Grand Rapids and am a proud member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. I’ve always been obsessed with movies, which led me to earn a BA in Film from GVSU and an MFA in writing and directing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. I recently moved back to Grand Rapids where I teach in GVSU’s film and video department. I’m fortunate to still be pursuing my passion for writing and directing, with several short films behind me and trying to get my first feature off the ground. I'm usually spending time with my partner, hanging out at coffee shops, trying new restaurants, traveling, reading about history, hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, going on road trips, and reading political theory.
Once again, congratulations on winning the audience vote for your film Happy Thanksgiving! To those who haven’t seen it, can you tell us about it?
Happy Thanksgiving is a dark comedy that follows an Anishinaabe man who takes a ‘Happy Thanksgiving’ wish from a bank teller so personally, his rage drives him to carry out a bizarre revenge plan. This was my second-year film project for grad school. It’s a fun heist movie that gets weird.
What was the inspiration behind Happy Thanksgiving, and why did you want to tell this story?
The film I made before this dealt with abstract and vague ideas about colonization, and while I was trying to challenge convention, it never felt fully successful. That seemed to be a common thread in my work at the time. So, with Happy Thanksgiving, I wanted to fully embrace convention. I was really into heist movies then, and I asked myself: what would be a funny reason for an Anishinaabe protagonist to rob a bank? Around that time, there was a lot happening in the U.S. — historical statues were being torn down, and it felt like a real reckoning with our country’s history. That energy made it feel like the right time to explore these themes, but through the lens of comedy. And that’s how Happy Thanksgiving was born.
During the Q&A portion at Open Projector Night, you explained that shooting Happy Yhanksgiving was an absolute nightmare. For our readers who didn’t attend OPN can you tell us about this experience and what you learned from it?
Happy Thanksgiving was my second-year project at NYU Tisch’s grad film program where the bar is incredibly high. Second-year films from the program have gone to Cannes, TIFF, Sundance, and even helped students land representation. That pressure really got to me — I started focusing too much on the end result instead of staying present in the process, which is not a good place to be when making a film. On top of that, I was completely burnt out from the program.
When production began, everything that could go wrong did. Producing the film from New York while shooting in Michigan was tough enough, but then we faced insane weather: a windstorm that blew down a tree that landed right on our rental trailer, a blizzard, and an overnight thaw that left trailers sinking in mud. It was pure chaos. We shot on film but our Arri SR2 camera gave us problems, and we had to scramble to find a replacement midway through the shoot. It was one challenge after another, and it really pushed me to my limits…]luckily we had an amazing crew that held it together.
There was so much I learned from this set. The biggest takeaway is that being too focused on the end result can be detrimental to the creative process. With each film, the goal is to improve from the last: to take what we learned from the last and apply it to the next. There will always be things that go wrong. What matters is learning new ways to adapt and think on your feet. You prepare as much as possible beforehand, but once the shoot is in motion, you have to let go, stay present, and focus on making whatever moment you’re shooting. As directors, our goal is to create an environment where our actors can be present in the story; in order to do this, we have to be present in the moment too.
I want to shed light on the fact that you’re a Michigan-based filmmaker. Many decide to pick up and move to either L.A. or NYC to pursue filmmaking. Can you tell us how staying in MI has inspired you? Has it had a positive impact on your creativity and what would you say to any filmmaker that’s debating on leaving MI?
I lived in Brooklyn for six years and recently moved back after finishing my MFA. The original plan was to stay in New York a few more years and work, but living there as a creative is incredibly hard. It’s not the romantic NYC of the past where creativity thrived in cafes. Many of those places are gone, replaced by Starbucks or high-end shops where the cheapest item costs more than a month’s rent. Don’t get me wrong — I love New York City and will always consider it my home away from home — but my true home is Grand Rapids, Michigan.
My family has been here for thousands of years. It’s where I grew up, where I know, and where my stories are rooted. Coming back has been grounding — it’s lowered my stress and anxiety, and I’m closer to my family and loved ones. All of these things have allowed my creativity to flourish. The Duplass Brothers have a great piece in their book Like Brothers about how if you’re an aspiring writer/director, you should not be living in a big city, you should be living where you’re from, making stories rooted in places and people you know. It’s hard to create when you’re working three jobs to pay rent in overpriced cramped apartments.
For filmmakers debating whether to leave Michigan, I’d never discourage anyone from traveling or experiencing life outside of where they’re from. Before I left for New York, I spoke to elders in the Native community about my hesitations, and they told me to go, experience life, and know that Grand Rapids would always be here when I returned. I think it’s important to step out of this bubble...but, hopefully, you find your way back.
Another thing I’ve realized since returning is how special the film community is here. I’m still new to it, but it’s unlike anything I’ve seen — even in New York. When film friends from the city visit, I tell them about all the incredible work GRFS is doing, and they always say they wish they had something similar. Grand Rapids truly is a special place for filmmakers.
From Happy Thanksgiving to your latest film, The Beguiling, you stay true to your roots and connection to your heritage, and I find that to be beautiful. Can you talk about this and how your heritage plays a major role in your work?
Being Anishinaabe is just who I am. My family is Anishinaabe, and it's how I was raised, so it naturally informs the way I see the world. Most people aren't familiar with Indigenous or Anishinaabe culture, and while it’s easy to fall into the trap of using film as a tool to educate, I don’t see that as the primary goal of my work. I think of myself as a storyteller, and my films are about telling stories of people. If audiences walk away learning something new, that’s great, but my focus is always on creating an engaging story that resonates.
Take Happy Thanksgiving, for example: some people suggested I should have my protagonist go deeper into the history of Thanksgiving during the dinner scene, but that’s not the point of the film. If people sit in the theater laughing and maybe being a little uncomfortable and then go home to Google the true history of Thanksgiving, I think that’s a perfect outcome. It’s not about educating — it’s about telling an entertaining and compelling story that hopefully sparks reflection.
Very generic question, but I must know: what’s your favorite film and why? If you don’t have a favorite, give me three that stand out to you.
My go-to answers for this question are: Chungking Express by Wong Kar-wai, the ‘Before Trilogy’ by Linklater, The Master by PTA and City Lights by Charlie Chaplin. But I’m kind of bored with these answers. So here’s a brand new Top 3 that comes to mind: Portrait of a Lady on Fire by Céline Sciamma, After Hours by Martin Scorsese, and Frances Ha by Noah Baumbach (co-written by Greta Gerwig).
I feel like every filmmaker has that ‘spark’ — that moment where they say to themselves, “Yes, this is what I want to do, I want to make films.” Did you have that moment, and if so, could you share it with us? If you didn’t have that moment, what made you want to make movies?
Like many filmmakers, I grew up completely obsessed with movies. As a young boy, I wanted to be an actor because that’s what we typically see. But it wasn’t until I took a film class in high school that I truly saw things differently. I was behind the camera for the first time, shooting my first short film, A Clockwork Chapter, which was inspired by the universe of A Clockwork Orange. I vividly remember shooting a scene: a friend and me, both acting, a miniDV camera on a tripod, it was around midnight; one of those backstreets off of Ottawa Ave near Canal Park, figuring out where to place the camera and problem-solving how to approach the scene. That moment of being fully engaged in the process — thinking on my feet and making creative decisions — was when I realized this was what I wanted to do. It was that spark.
This is a question I like to ask all our award-winning filmmakers. If you were able to make your dream film and had an unlimited budget, what would you make?
I’ve always dreamed of making a film about Pontiac's War, in the style of 300. Pontiac's War (1763–1766) was a conflict between the Anishinaabe, led by the Odawa leader Pontiac, and British forces in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War. The Anishinaabe captured multiple forts in one of the largest Indigenous uprisings in U.S. history. The story is full of drama — internal struggles and betrayals that led to its demise — but it was also successful in sparking significant policy shifts. It’s an incredibly rich and dramatic story, and with the right budget, it could be brought to life in a powerful way.
What’s next for ishkwaazhe Shane McSauby? Anything exciting in the works?
Happy Thanksgiving made its festival premiere last year in 2023 and has been doing the circuit for about a year. OPN was sort of a Happy Thanksgiving finale for me. Since then, I've shot and premiered another short called The Beguiling, which made it's premiere at TIFF 2024 and had a sneak peak at OPN Halloween Edition. I'm excited to say that it will be having it's official US premiere as South By Southwest (SXSW) in 2025. I'm so happy with this film, so I'm excited to get it in front of as many people as I can. It's so crazy to be able to continually make things that play in theaters to crowds of people. What a dream. I'm seriously so grateful to be able to do this. I have two features I'm working on, a horror and a thriller. I'm hoping to share one of them at the next GRFS Pitch Night event.
How do we stay up to date with you and your work? Any socials you want to share?
My website is ishkwaazhe.com. I’m also on and off of Instagram, but it’s @ishkwaazhe.
Any words on your experience at Open Projector Night?
This was my third time screening at OPN, and I’ve attended several others over the years. I absolutely love OPN — it’s such a special event. This last one was fantastic with an amazing crowd. A big shoutout to everyone else who screened their work, filmmakers such as Dede Drake, Paul Echeverria, and Darius Quinn to name a few. I’m always inspired by the incredible talent coming out of Grand Rapids. It’s always inspiring to see such creativity in our community.
ROAD TO THE OSCARS 2025
SURPRISES, SMEARS, AND SUBSTANCE: THE 2025 OSCARS LANDSCAPE
[BY: ANNA DAVIS & KYLE MACCIOMEI]
At 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time on Thursday, January 24, Rachel Sennott and Bowen Yang announced the nominees for the 97th Academy Awards. This came after multiple delays in the nomination process due to the Los Angeles wildfires. In the wake of the damage, many members of the film industry have more on their minds than little gold men. But awards in Hollywood are an industry in and of themselves, and so the commercial wheels of press, advertising, and smear campaigns will continue regardless! So here we are — doing our due diligence to speculate about the outcomes of this silly little awards show. The show must go on!
Voting closes on Tuesday, February 18, so as campaign season heats up we’re taking a look at many of the prevailing narratives that have emerged as a result of these announcements.
BEST PICTURE NARRATIVES
Emilia Pérez wins the Oscar’s ‘Villain of the Year’ award
Thirteen nominations, huh? That places Emilia Pérez among the eleven films with the highest number of Oscar nominations in history. Typically, movies with this many nominations are strong contenders for a Best Picture win (e.g. Forrest Gump, Chicago), though it’s important to note that it is not a guarantee (e.g. Mary Poppins, Benjamin Button). It’s also worth remembering that Netflix has yet to win Best Picture despite nine previous nominations.
If anyone has been in online film spaces for more than two minutes, you’ll know that Emilia Pérez incites strong feelings amongst cinephiles (particularly the younger ones more tapped into a kind of cultural zeitgeist). Since the nominations were announced, a flurry of think pieces and takedowns were posted, creating a controversy that has become omnipresent in Oscars discourse. Whether or not this negativity reaches the highly insulated 10,000 Academy members is another question, but it’s the dominant story of this race at the moment. Will we have another Green Book? Will we have another Crash? The Academy loves to virtue signal with films that speak to a kind of social cause, and Emilia Pérez is currently its favorite vehicle for these trying times.
We wonder how Emilia Pérez will fare with the Academy’s ranked choice voting format. Being a divisive film, it’s likely to earn a good amount of number of #1 rankings but also may get a fair share of #9 and #10 spots. If it struggles to secure enough upper-middle rankings, it could miss the boost it needs to clinch the win. Zoe Saldaña, however, is essentially a lock for Best Supporting Actress — with her only main contender being Ariana Grande in Wicked.
The Brutalist is a leading frontrunner if it can dodge the AI smear campaign
Things were looking bright for The Brutalist’s chances of securing a Best Picture win following a strong appearance at The Golden Globes and ten Oscar nominations. However, an AI controversy is complicating its chances. This story has been timed so well in the media that it’s hard to believe it wasn’t a smear campaign from Netflix or Timothée Chalamet’s camp. But it appears to be working, as the original interview with the film’s editor Dávid Jancsó has gone viral. Coming off the heels of union strikes which heavily focused on regulating AI within the industry, voters may not take too kindly to this. It also seems possible that the use of Respeecher in correcting Adrian Brody’s Hungarian pronunciations could dismantle his chances of a second Best Actor statue. The Brutalist’s road to the Oscars is looking a little more, well, brutal. That being said, Corbet is still looking good to win Best Director, and composer Daniel Blumberg’s soaring score will likely win at this point in the race.
Anora, Wicked, and Conclave were trying to find ways in, but Is A Complete Unknown viable now?
Since winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes, Anora has been an awards favorite all season. Ingénue Mikey Madison is absolutely in competition to unseat Demi Moore for Best Actress, and we won’t count out Sean Baker to take home directing or editing recognition. With ranked choice voting in mind, Anora seems like a probably #2 on many voter’s lists...but enough #2 and #3 slots could catapult Anora to the top over Emilia Pérez and The Brutalist. Conclave and Wicked have been looking for a similar pathway to success, but now there is a new competitor in the field.
A Complete Unknown was nominated for an impressive eight awards this year, securing nominations that just a month ago seemed unlikely for Edward Norton and Monica Barbaro as actors and James Mangold for director. Are there enough Dylan fans in the Academy to surge the film into a winning spot? It’s not likely, but this just goes to show how up in the air this year’s Best Pictures race is compared to last year’s. With Timothée Chalamet’s relentless and amusing campaign, the film is gaining momentum (like a rolling stone).
The Brazilians win out: I’m Still Here sneaks in
The Oscars are always more exciting with some unexpected surprises. I’m Still Here wasn’t on anyone’s radar pre-Golden Globes, but everything changed after Fernanda Torres’ Best Actress win. While it’s unlikely to take home the top prize, the film claimed a precious nomination spot, edging out other contenders like A Real Pain and Sing Sing. As the first Brazilian production ever nominated in this category, it’s a fun development that brings a movie very popular in its home country to a broader global audience. It’s even more touching knowing that only two Brazilian actors have ever been nominated at the Oscars, the first being Fernanda Torres’ mother Fernanda Montenegro back in 1999 with another Walter Salles film, Central Station.
The Substance brings body horror to the Oscars, with Nosferatu tucked in it’s big yellow coat
The Substance receiving five nominations is an unexpected but welcome surprise! The Academy has a history of ignoring the horror genre, and Silence of the Lambs is the only horror film to win Best Picture. Coralie Fargeat’s feminist body horror is now one of seven horror movies ever nominated for the award at all. Following her rousing Golden Globes acceptance speech, Demi Moore is a frontrunner to take home Best Actress (as long as she can keep her lead against Mikey Madison).
In a time where many of us feel more splintered between versions of ourselves than ever before, it only makes sense that works like The Substance and Severance are hitting a nerve. Though it’s not a frontrunner for an Original Screenplay, Director, or Best Picture win, it’s still exciting that this low-budget body horror movie stands a strong chance of winning two statues on Oscar night: one for Best Makeup & Hair Styling and another for Best Actress.
Not only are some horror fans excited by this entry, but they must also be delighted to see that their beloved Nosferatu has lurked through the night and seduced enough voters for it to get an incredible four nominations in Cinematography, Production Design, Makeup & Hairstyling, and Costumes. Horror fans rejoice!
Dune: Part Two has been forgotten in awards, but Nickel Boys will be remembered
Josh Brolin torching the Academy for not nominating Denis is so relatable. Dune: Part Two’s Best Picture nomination feels like the Academy giving Denis a gentle pat on the shoulder for making a nice sci-fi movie. Was it not ‘serious’ enough? Given the 40-minute gore-fest that is the third act of The Substance, that must not be the issue — but there is not enough desert power on Arrakis to give this movie a real shot at winning many Oscars this year. It’s not currently a favorite for Cinematography, Production Design, or Sound; our fingers remain crossed for Visual Effects.
What is exciting to see is the incredible, small, but powerful Nickel Boys getting nominations for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. Sometimes, we like to think of the Academy as a Cultural Longevity Machine™ — by being nominated, a film has instantly bought more time in the conversation to be viewed, discussed, analyzed, and hopefully praised. Large movies like Dune: Part Two don’t necessarily need the power of this Longevity Machine™ (that’s what the money is for), but independent films like Nickel Boys benefit immensely from the power of the Academy, and it brings us joy to see so much attention brought to a film that would have been criminally under-seen had it not received these two nominations.
OTHER CONVERSATIONS
The Latvian that could, Flow breaks through
Flow, a dialogue-free animated journey made entirely in Blender, is a surprising contender in the Best Animated Film race. The small but mighty team behind Flow now find themselves nominated for two Academy Awards, and are neck-and-neck with The Wild Robot for a win. Considering that Flow had an animation team close to 10x smaller than that of The Wild Robot, it’s always exciting to see smaller passion projects break through into the mainstream. Flow represents the first Latvian film nominated in any category, and the film’s director, Gints Zilbalodis, shared his reaction to the nomination in a super wholesome way.
Challengers...COME ON!
What did Luca Guadagnino do to the Academy to deserve this? Queer was completely shut out of this year’s ceremony, with Daniel Craig likely losing his Best Actor spot to Sebastian Stan. And though it wasn’t a box office smash, Challengers was one of the most highly-praised and pop culturally relevant movies of 2024. A miss in Best Director and Best Picture aren’t shockers, but no nod for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ incredible techno score is absolutely criminal (especially considering they already won in this category at the Golden Globes!). Based on the race so far, it seems that The Wild Robot’s ambitious campaign is what allowed it to steal a slot from Challengers. Animated films have a long history of being recognized for their scores, with Reznor and Ross winning the category for 2020’s Soul.
Sing Sing should be a bigger deal
If you’ve seen it, we’d hope you agree Sing Sing deserves more Oscar love than it got. It did receive noms for Best Actor, Original Song, and Adapted Screenplay, but Clarence Maclin’s quietly tender performance was shut out. His interplay with Colmon Domingo’s character is critical to the film’s success, and it’s truly disappointing he was not nominated. Sing Sing got the Iron Claw treatment, as we predicted in our previous blog.
The Apprentice rebounds with voters as Strong and Stan get recognized
Sebastian Stan has had a banner year, capitalizing on his MCU influence to get two smaller projects off the ground that gave him a chance to show off his chops like never before. It seemed Hollywood didn’t want to touch The Apprentice with a ten-foot pole, with Stan sharing he was shut out of participating in Actors on Actors in the fall. But that was all pre-election, and now it seems the tides have turned. His work in A Different Man nabbed him a Golden Globe, and The Apprentice has received recognition for both Stan and Jeremy Strong’s performances as Donald Trump and Roy Cohn. It’s great to see both the eldest and youngest Roy sibling get nominated in the same year for two different films, and it’s interesting to think about the influences of real world American politics on the Academy. Oscar nominations often serve as a reflection of certain cultural, political, and socioeconomic norms, and this year is no different.
FIRSTS!
As Oscar history nerds, we’re excited about several significant “firsts” from this year’s nominations, including:
Karla Sofía Gascón is the first openly trans actress to be nominated in the Best Actress category.
Coralie Fargeat is this year’s sole female Best Director nominee, and only the ninth ever nominated for that award. She is also the first woman nominated for directing a horror film.
Emilia Pérez scored the most nominations ever for a non-English language film.
All of the Best Director nominees are first-time nominees in that category, which has only happened two other years: 1970 and 1999.
***
Stay tuned for further coverage and conversation about this year’s awards season!
UPCOMING EVENTS
62nd ANN ARBOR FILM FESTIVAL TRAVELING TOUR
WHAT: Selections from the 62nd Ann Arbor Film Festival are played across two programs. Arrive early to make your own 16mm film loops!
WHEN: Friday, January 31st, 7:00pm
WHERE: The Wealthy Theatre
TANGERINES (Urushadze, 2013)
WHAT: PRESENTED BY CHIAROSCURO INTERNATIONAL FILM SERIES. During the war in Abkhazia, an Estonian man stays behind to wait for his lucrative crop of tangerines. After a firefight he must care for two soldiers, each from opposing sides, who each vow to kill the other once they recover.
WHEN: Sunday, February 2nd, 2:00pm
WHERE: The Wealthy Theatre
WHEEL OF FORTUNE AND FANTASY (Hamaguchi, 2021)
WHAT: MOVIES AT THE MUSEUM CONCLUDES! This triptych surveys a series of relationships muddied and tormented by miscommunication. Each encounter explores the lush, ambiguous terrain of things unsaid, misremembered, overwrought, and yearned for – sometimes grappled with in the subject’s imagination, or in the wake of the events happening offscreen.
WHEN: Thursday, February 6th, 7:00pm
WHERE: The Grand Rapids Art Museum
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 #87 in your inbox NEXT WEEK!
Until then, friends...
