Tonight, the film industry gathers for the 98th Academy Awards, celebrating the stories that resonated most with the global film industry this year.

Awards season always highlights the craft of filmmaking, and this year’s nominees remind us that the stories that endure are rarely about perfect heroes. More often, they’re about flawed people searching for belonging or a second chance.

We’ve seen that show up in some of the films we’ve highlighted here at Plumb over the past few months. Two previous Plumb Picks — Song Sung Blue and KPop Demon Hunters — both earned Oscar nominations this year, a reminder that meaningful storytelling can come from unexpected places.

We’re also spotlighting a filmmaker whose work has long explored the humanity of outsiders: Guillermo del Toro. His recent adaptation of Frankenstein — nominated for nine Oscars — continues a career built around misunderstood characters searching for dignity, meaning, and redemption.

One more piece of good news worth sharing: Andrew and Jae Huff’s Dot Conner: Webtective has officially partnered with Angel Studios! Last Sunday on Plumb Tales, we livestreamed a conversation with the Huffs about the journey behind the project and why, even in an industry chasing trends, story is still king. If you missed it, the full conversation is worth checking out.

Guillermo del Toro’s distinctive take on Frankenstein revisits Mary Shelley’s classic through the lens that has defined much of his career: empathy for the misunderstood. Rather than presenting the Creature simply as a monster, del Toro explores the tragedy of a being rejected by the world that created him. The result is a story about responsibility, compassion, and the universal longing for acceptance — themes that have echoed throughout del Toro’s work for decades.

WHERE TO WATCH →

Brad Pitt stars as a once-promising Formula One driver pulled back into the sport after years on the fringes. Now older and carrying the weight of his past, his character returns to the track to mentor a rising rookie while chasing one final shot at redemption. Set against the speed and spectacle of professional racing, the film blends high-stakes competition with a familiar human story: the search for purpose after failure.

WHERE TO WATCH →

Guillermo del Toro has spent much of his career telling stories about monsters, but rarely in the way audiences expect.

In interviews, the filmmaker has explained that the creatures in his films often stand in for those pushed to the margins of society: characters misunderstood, rejected, or overlooked by the world around them. In one conversation, del Toro described monsters as “patron saints of the outsiders.”

That perspective traces back in part to his upbringing. Del Toro has described himself as a lapsed Catholic, yet the moral imagination of that background continues to influence his storytelling. Ideas about sacrifice, compassion, and redemption quietly run through many of his films.

Frankenstein is a natural extension of that vision.

Mary Shelley’s Creature has long been one of literature’s most tragic figures — brought into existence only to be abandoned by the very world responsible for creating him. In del Toro’s version, the focus shifts from horror to the emotional weight of rejection.

The result is a film that asks a timeless question: when someone is treated like a monster, who truly bears the blame?

It’s a question that has echoed through myth, literature, and faith traditions for centuries... and one that continues to resonate in stories about people searching for grace in unexpected places.

The results are in! 100% of you voted for Yes, and it paid off in last week’s poll: Have you ever taken a major risk to pursue something you believed in?

One of the most common myths in independent filmmaking is that the audience comes after the film is finished.

But more creators are discovering the opposite: the audience often grows during the process.

The team behind Prey for Mason is experimenting with an idea called #DateLocked — publicly committing to a screening date and building toward it with supporters along the way. The concept is simple: announce the premiere, invite people into the journey, and create momentum as the project moves toward completion.

That philosophy also appears in initiatives like #OwnAFrame, an upcoming effort that would allow supporters to purchase individual frames of a film during production — helping fund the project while building an invested audience.

These ideas reflect the principle behind the P.R.O.V.E. Method:

The takeaway: when filmmakers invite audiences into the process early, the story can begin reaching people long before the premiere.

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” – Luke 19:10 (ESV)

Some of the most enduring stories revolve around people who feel like they don’t belong — outsiders, wanderers, or those searching for a second chance.

And it’s not just the movies. The Scripture often shows Jesus moving toward those very same people. He often ate with sinners, fraternized with lepers, and welcomed those whom others had written off.

In Luke 15:4, Jesus famously describes a shepherd who leaves his 99 sheep in the open country to search for the one that has wandered away.

Again and again, the pattern is clear: the ones who feel farthest away are often the very ones being sought.

Perhaps that’s why stories about redemption resonate so deeply. They remind us that being lost doesn’t have to be the end of the story... but rather the start of a new one.

Until next time,

THE PLUMB NEWS TEAM