YDA Winner Tanner Williams explores the anti-sacred space

Firstly, congratulations on your YDA Gold win! What does this mean to you?

Oof, honestly, what an incredible honour. I’m so deeply flattered by the recognition and reinvigorated seeing that this self-funded debut, made exclusively alongside trusting friends and around $5, could be side by side with so much talent in the industry and still leave with a win. Unreal, I’m humbled. Shiversucker has quite literally changed my entire life and career over the past year, but to end the run with the YDAs in Cannes was fantastic.

I decided to simply focus on directing in a last-ditch effort, and the result was Shiversucker. The first day on set, I knew that I had found the right medium.

Have you always wanted to be a filmmaker? What was your journey to directing like? 

I came from contemporary art, creative direction, stills, and accessory design - I initially thought that I would wind up in the gallery/museum space, and video would come into my career further down the road. But when I started seeing what Alessandro Michele was doing with his Gucci campaign videos, or feeling the wave of dopamine that washed over me every time I watched a Parris Goebel dance video, I started to wonder how long the gallery space on its own would satisfy me. 

About a year and a half ago, I found myself at a crossroads - I was thinking, either my work’s not as good as I think it is and I should go back to school for psychology, or I need to change my medium. I decided to simply focus on directing in a last-ditch effort, and the result was Shiversucker. The first day on set, I knew that I had found the right medium.

How did you approach translating the track’s mood and message into visual storytelling?

Baiting an audience is my favourite. I was geeked at the idea of starting off hyper-serious on a run-down farm with wide and melodramatic landscapes à la Power of the Dog. I wanted the beginning to feel like a short film, and not just context for a music video. All that seriousness and authenticity is immediately challenged and threatened the first second you hear Madge’s little voice: “Ego trip 2024, we go worldwide, motherfucker.” As the video ramps up in speed, so does the absurdity. Rather than translating specific lyrics or writing inspiration, we simply thought that this song deserved a video as surprising as the song sounded.

Rather than translating specific lyrics or writing inspiration, we simply thought that this song deserved a video as surprising as the song sounded.

How did you balance your own vision with the artist’s identity and brand?

The musician, Madge, and I have worked together for a really long time – I’ve submerged them in a pool of tomato soup, watched them twerk in a human-sized teddy bear, and pole dance across the country. While we differ still in many preferences, our collaboration has always been a mix of punk, Parliaments and polygamy. All of our work together, while being precisely executed, has always purposefully challenged the self-seriousness of the project. I think we were both intrigued by the uncomfortable and anti-sacred space between a beautifully shot narrative about suicide/polygamy paired with such a silly song. At the end of the day, Madge let us play ball together, and the result was superb.

Where did your inspiration for the film’s styling and aesthetics come from?

Okay, so listen - I grew up in Provo, Utah, in hyper-devout, unflinching orthodox Mormonism. Dad was a bishop, mom was in the choir, I didn’t know any non-Mormons growing up, every single person in every single house in my neighbourhood was an active member (terrifying). I was taught I had to go on a 2-year mission to gaslight lower-income vulnerable communities (I had to), then go to BYU, the university of my ancestors (I had to), and marry in the temple (I didn’t, thank god). All of that obviously collapsed when I came out and left the church. It wasn’t just a hard social decision – it was unbearable and unrelenting. It took my body literal years to return to semi-normal function due to how hard the fight-or-flight was working in my body to keep me alive.

 I think video specifically, over stills, sculpture and performance, allows a filmmaker to mix the cute with the yuck in a more dynamic and challenging way.

But there is a point here. That’s why so much of my work leads back to my origin – primarily highlighting the hatred and bigotry of my upbringing, yes, but also sometimes with soft irony, sometimes in a nostalgic language, sometimes in healing. Also, you know what other queer grew up down the street from me in the same orthodox congregation? MADGE. We just wanted to re-contextualise our diabolical heritage into something subversive as hell– is that such a crime? IDK maybe someone ask Joseph Smith.

How do you think this video pushed your personal style or filmmaking skills forward?

Well, it pushed my filmmaking forward because I hadn’t ever done it before lol, but in terms of personal style, I’ve actually never been a fan of classically beautiful things in my work, and this made me come to a bit more peace with it – I think video specifically, over stills, sculpture and performance, allows a filmmaker to mix the cute with the yuck in a more dynamic and challenging way.