The Annihilation of Fish

Director Charles Burnett’s powerful films—including Killer of Sheep, To Sleep With Anger, and The Glass Shield—changed cinema forever and earned the director an honorary Oscar. The Annihilation of Fish continues his explorations of race, humor, and humanity, but in a different key. The charming, tender comedy/romance centers on Poinsettia (Redgrave), an older woman passionately devoted to her lover—the long-dead composer Giacomo Puccini. When no one in San Francisco will perform a marriage with a noncorporeal groom, she moves into a Victorian Los Angeles boarding house run by Mrs. Muldroone (Kidder). There, Poinsettia encounters a Jamaican widower named Fish (Jones), recently released from a mental institution, whose mission in life is wrestling an invisible demon named Hank. Burnett’s long-lost 1999 feature, unreleased until 2024 and screening at BAM in a new 4K restoration from Milestone Films, is hilarious, heartfelt, and timeless.

Featuring live Q&As with Burnett following the 7pm screenings on February 14 & 15.