Author

Grant Phipps

A Madison transplant, Grant has been writing about contemporary and repertory cinema since contributing to No Ripcord and LakeFrontRow; and he served as Tone Madison‘s film section editor for a handful of years before officially assuming an arts editor role in 2026. More recently, Grant has been involved with programming at Mills Folly Microcinema and one-off screenings at the Bartell Theatre. From mid-2016 thru early-2020, he also showcased his affinity for art songs and avant-progressive music on WSUM 91.7 FM. 🌱

Grant's Latest Articles

Tone Madison’s 2024 Annual Report
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Misc
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June 26, 2025

Assessing our financial standing as we break down the breadth and impact of our work in our 10th year as a publication.

An Indian person's hands are shown at a close-up holding open a printed copy of a newspaper. Sunlight makes parts of the newsprint transparent, blurring the Hindi text on the cover page and second page that are printed on opposite sides.
“Sheetla” bears the weight of familial history as tethered to cultural destruction
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Film
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June 11, 2025

Multidisciplinary artist Anamika Singh's short documentary on leftist Indian newspaper Jan Morcha screens twice at the Chazen in June alongside her multimedia gallery exhibition "Corpus."

A photo captures a dimly lit movie theater from the point of view of someone sitting near the middle row. The large white projection screen is blank, but parenthetical black text had been added digitally that reads "(anxious writer expounds upon attachment to accessibility feature)." A row of 10 red seats directly in front of the screen are empty.
Worlds hidden in (captions)
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Microtones
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May 16, 2025

Recognizing the expressive translation endeavors of film subtitlers.

At a medium shot, three people sit in a conference room in a triangular-like formation at a large tan table. Two of them, sitting at the left and center, are turned towards the host, who sits at the right. They all have paper notes in front of them. The table consumes the entire foreground of the frame.
Video: Talking 2025 Wisconsin Film Festival with Josiah Wampfler
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Film
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April 29, 2025

A collaborative episode with OCA Media after recovering from festival fatigue in the wake of the 27th annual event, which was held from April 3 through 10.

Superimposed images create a psychedelic effect in a still from "Honky Tonk Angels." In the foreground, a glass-bead necklace is threaded with plastic cowboy boots. The necklace is laying flat on a surface with an ambiguous print pattern with one of the boots nearly centered in the frame. A night sky-like pattern spinning in mid-motion is overlaid on top.
The garish glamor of “Honky Tonk Angels”
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Film
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April 23, 2025

Meggen Heuss' "dessert project"—a video accompaniment for a Westley Heine poem—premieres at Project Projection at Arts + Literature Laboratory on April 30.

An illustration shows black-and-white line-drawing portraits, from the shoulders up, of Scott Gordon, Grant Phipps, Christina Lieffring, and Steven Spoerl.
Tone Madison is announcing some leadership changes
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Misc
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April 10, 2025

Our fiercely independent, journalist-owned publication will move forward as our publisher steps down.

Tone Madison seeks a News and Politics Editor
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Misc
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April 10, 2025

Apply by May 19 to help us expand our political coverage.

In the foreground of an image in a forested area, a woman in a white lab suit lays on the grass in the fetal position. Behind her, yellow tape that faintly reads "crime scene do not enter" is wrapped in a semi-triangular shape around a cluster of trees.
Mortal and moral inquiries at the 2025 Wisconsin Film Festival
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Wisconsin Film Festival
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April 3, 2025

Our writers ponder four incisive, formidable documentaries (and essay films) screening as part of the fest from April 4 through 10.

A photo of an urban alleyway during the day. Along either side of the alley are vertical rows of garbage and recycling bins against fences and houses. The bins extend into the distance. The road itself is free of cars and pedestrians.
“The Year” presents a prosaic alleyway as a poetic gateway
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Wisconsin Film Festival
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March 25, 2025

A conversation with Milwaukee-based filmmaker Grace Mitchell, whose experimental short makes its local premiere at the Wisconsin Film Festival on April 4.

Five people sit at an elongated table in a moviehouse lobby. Two are seated on the right side, closer to or in the foreground, while the three on the left sit further away in the middle ground. All of them carefully pore over printed materials on the table. Other attendees mill about in the background.
The sights and shape(s) of the 2025 Wisconsin Film Festival
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Film
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March 9, 2025

Seven writers size up the programming patterns in the eight-day celebration of movies, which runs April 3 through 10 across UW–Madison campus and beyond.