Past Film/Video | Visiting Filmmakers | Classics | Series & Festivals

The Annihilation of Fish

(Charles Burnett, 1999)

Charles Burnett in person

New Restoration | World Premiere

Info & Tickets

Still from the Annihilation of Fish, a man and a woman wear black formal wear; he is holding an umbrella.

Mar 02, 2024 7:00 PM

Film/Video Theater

$7 members and adults 55 and over
$9 general public
$5 students

ACCESSIBILITY
We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. If you have questions about accessibility or require an accommodation such as CART captioning or ASL interpretation to participate in this event, please email accessibility@wexarts.org or call (614) 688-3890. Requests made by two weeks in advance will generally allow us to provide seamless access, but the Wexner Center for the Arts will make every effort to meet requests made after this date.

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Catch the world premiere of the new restoration of this romantic comedy presented in person by Charles Burnett, the acclaimed director of Killer of Sheep and To Sleep with Anger.

Winner of an Honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement, Charles Burnett remains one of our country’s most celebrated independent filmmakers. In his charming The Annihilation of Fish, Lynn Redgrave plays Poinsettia, a former housewife with an imagined lover in the form of 19th-century composer Giacomo Puccini. She moves into a Los Angeles boarding house with an energetic landlady (Margot Kidder). There she meets a Jamaican widower, Fish (James Earl Jones), who has recently been released from a mental institution despite his continued battles against unseen demons. In the face of personal challenges and differences, the couple grows together and begins to discover new things about themselves and the nuances of love and happiness. (108 mins., 4K DCP)

See the complete 2024 Cinema Revival lineup.

IMAGE CAPTION
The Annihilation of Fish, courtesy Milestone Films with Kino Lorber.

"Charles Burnett performs a delightful directorial turn with this funny and tender study of outsiders and misfits finding love and happiness."

Shannon Kelly, UCLA Film & Television Archive

About the filmmaker

Charles Burnett is an acclaimed film director, producer, and writer. His films include Killer of Sheep (1978), My Brother’s Wedding (1983), To Sleep with Anger (1990), and The Glass Shield (1994). He was a key figure in the LA Rebellion film movement during the late 1960s to the late 1980s and in 2017 he received an Honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement.

Tag(s)

Restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive and the Film Foundation with funding by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation, and in collaboration with Milestone Films. Restored from the 35mm original picture negative and 35mm optical track negative. Laboratory services by Roundabout Entertainment, Inc., FotoKem, Audio Mechanics, and Simon Daniel Sound. UCLA Restorationist: Jillian Borders. Special thanks to Charles Burnett, John Demps, Dennis Doros, and Amy Heller.

SUPPORT FOR THIS PRESENTATION PROVIDED BY
Larry and Donna James

FILM/VIDEO PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY
National Endowment for the Arts
Ohio Humanities

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Rohauer Collection Foundation

WEXNER CENTER PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY
Ohio Department of Development 
Greater Columbus Arts Council 
The Wexner Family
Institute of Museum and Library Services 
Ohio Arts Council, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts
CampusParc
Ohio State’s Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme
The Columbus Foundation
Nationwide Foundation
Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Mike and Paige Crane
Axium Packaging
Nancy Kramer
Ohio State Energy Partners
Ohio History Fund/Ohio History Connection
Larry and Donna James
Bruce and Joy Soll
Rebecca Perry Damsen and Ben Towle
Jones Day
Alex and Renée Shumate