Black Harvest Film Festival

About the Event

Join us as we conclude the 30th Black Harvest Film Festival with the Chicago premiere of the 4K digital restoration of Charles Burnett’s (KILLER OF SHEEP, TO SLEEP WITH ANGER) long-lost feature, THE ANNIHILATION OF FISH (1999, USA, 108 min. In English), starring James Earl Jones, Lynn Redgrave, and Margot Kidder. The film presentation will be followed by a dialogue with director Charles Burnett, who will be presented with the Black Harvest Film Festival Legacy Award. 

Shot in 1999, THE ANNIHILATION OF FISH screened that September at the Toronto International Film Festival and was acquired for distribution. But following a single bad review in Variety, the distributor canceled the film’s release. For almost a quarter of a century, THE ANNIHILATION OF FISH has been unavailable on all media—it has never been distributed on 35mm, DCP, VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, television, or streaming—until now. Adapted from a short story by Anthony C. Winkler, THE ANNIHILATION OF FISH is a tender comedy about two eccentric humans finding love later in life. With extraordinary performances from a stellar cast, the film tackles such issues as race, mental illness, and aging with anarchic humor and energy. The restoration is by UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation with funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. (Milestone Films).

Cost:

$15 – Gene Siskel Film Center members and SAIC students, staff, and faculty
$20 – Students
$30 – General Audiences

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