ishkwaazhe Shane McSauby
Directing
Biography
ishkwaazhe Shane McSauby is an American filmmaker and an enrolled member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. He was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Shane is a former Sundance Institute fellow and holds an MFA in writing and directing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. His work has been showcased across the globe in tribal communities, museums, and film festivals. His film Happy Thanksgiving was selected by nine Academy Award-qualifying festivals, including the Woodstock Film Festival, Nashville Film Festival, and Palm Springs International ShortFest. His latest project, The Beguiling, had its international premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival and its U.S. premiere at SXSW in 2025. It was recognized as one of four winners of the Focus Features Student Short Film Showcase at the 35th annual Gotham Awards Ceremony. Shane is also a full-time film professor and serves on the board of Anishinaabe Circle, a Grand Rapids based non-profit that serves the Anishinaabe community.
Known For
A non-binary Chinese-American drag queen returns to their home town to confront their estranged father about the childhood memories that continues to haunt them.
Little Sky
A trans Anishinaabe man meets a young Anishinaabe woman who pushes him to reconnect with their culture.
Mino Bimaadiziwin
A six year old Indigenous girl discovers she has super human powers.
Thunderer
What seems to be a burgeoning romance between two Indigenous people takes an unexpected turn in this bold and thrilling blend of the satirical and the sinister by writer-director ishkwaazhe Shane McSauby.
The Beguiling
An Indigenous man takes a Happy Thanksgiving wish very very personally.
Happy Thanksgiving
Five people attend the funeral of the beloved Alfred H. Gladstone. As they slowly drift in their reverie, they all come to face the same existential questions. Aren't the dead sometimes the most lively of us all? And, after all, aren't they all dead already?