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

A simple screenshot of the URL at "https://cinema.wisc.edu/series/2024/summer/international-discoveries" with two red-outlined circles highlighting the information at the heart of this commentary: the heading of "International Discoveries" and "Director: Woody Allen."
Woody Allen is not an “international discovery”
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Film
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May 30, 2024

Asking UW Cinematheque staff to reconsider their June 20 screening of Allen's latest movie, "Coup De Chance."

Bassist and composer Matt Ulery sits against a wood-paneled wall with his Fender electric bass in his lap. He stares forward at the camera with a neutral, stone-faced expression. Ulery wears an olive green-colored collared shirt that peeks out slightly from the top of his black sweater.
With Mother Harp, Matt Ulery sheds lavish chamber sounds for an active rock ethos
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Music
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May 13, 2024

The Chicago bassist and composer returns to North Street Cabaret with a new jazz-rock-leaning quintet on May 17.

Illustration: Cube-like abstract shapes against an orange background. Illustration by Maggie Denman.
Tone Madison’s 2023 Annual Report
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Misc
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May 6, 2024

Breaking down the finances, challenges, and triumphs of our ninth full year in operation.

At a close-up, eight-year-old Hana looks out into the distance at something off screen near the woods. She holds her right hand up to her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun. Hana is bundled in winter attire that includes mustard-yellow mittens, a horizontally-striped toque with dark and light blues, tan scarf, and a vivid blue heavy coat.
Oblique journeys in film (and) criticism
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Microtones
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May 3, 2024

Another post-film festival meditation on our current spaces for dialogue.

The four members of the Jakob Heinemann Quartet lean against a wall painted with rectangles in numerous sizes and colors, both shaded and outlined. The members all face the camera with neutral expressions, as the lens distorts at the edges of this sunny, low- and wide-angled shot.
Jakob Heinemann Quartet’s resonant passage through the avant-garde
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Music
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April 9, 2024

The post-minimalist chamber group performs at Arts + Literature Laboratory on April 13.

A thirtysomething woman (Joanna Arnow) with mid-length long hair kneels submissively (and shirtless) on the floor in a white-walled bedroom. She faces away from the camera and towards her partner, an older man (Scott Cohen), who is fully dressed, sitting in a chair and staring intently at her.
Everyday beauty, autofiction, and BDSM: an interview with Joanna Arnow
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Film
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April 1, 2024

The Brooklyn-based filmmaker discusses her deadpan comedy, "The Feeling That The Time For Doing Something Has Passed," which premieres locally at the 2024 Wisconsin Film Festival on April 5 and 6.

A rectangular collage of film stills in different colors and intensities. A black-and-white image from "Do Not Expect Too Much From The End Of The World" appears at the top left; the top right displays a character close-up from "Red Rooms" in luminescent red; bottom left displays archival footage in "So Unreal" digitally distorted in shades of green and blue; and the bottom right is a table read from "Ghostlight" in a room with a dark background.
A 2024 Wisconsin Film Festival preview in full bloom
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Film
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March 12, 2024

Nine of our writers offer their picks and advice on the annual cinematic rite of spring that runs between April 4 and 11.

In front of a movie theater screen and wooden panels below it, two people sit and look at each other in conversation. David Bordwell, left, wears a red and white plaid shirt, turning towards Kris Johnson-Salazar in a black and white cardigan, who holds the microphone. Both smile.
A small tribute to the titanic David Bordwell, “a real cinephile”
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Film
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March 5, 2024

Remembering the film scholar, theorist, professor, and, most significantly, enthusiast.

A packed audience in the foreground faces towards a large movie screen in front of them that is glowing bright white.
“Pictures Of Ghosts” invokes the city of Recife’s historical memory through haunting memoir
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Film
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February 19, 2024

Brazilian writer and director Kleber Mendonça Filho's sterling essay film premieres in Madison at UW Cinematheque on February 23.

Several musical performers sit in a rough rectangular shape facing each other during a jam session at Communication, an all-ages arts gallery and performance space. The stage at the back of the room is mood-lit in red, while the rest of the room is more brightly lit in white fluorescents.
“All The Sounds Are Done” improvises with/in improvisational space
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Music
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February 5, 2024

Sensitive and intrepid players have come to gather at Communication for the community music jam since summer 2023.