Annihilation of Fish

Name: Annihilation of Fish
Start: 2025-03-22T19:00:00-05:00
Location: 717 Clay St, Vicksburg, MS, United States, Mississippi 39183

Schedule

Sat, 22 Mar, 2025 at 07:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

717 Clay St, Vicksburg, MS, United States, Mississippi 39183 | Vicksburg, MS

In 2013 the Strand Theatre hosted Charles Burnett, an acclaimed director who was born in Vicksburg, for a weekend of his films and conversation. One of the treats of the event was the screening of the Annihilation of Fish. What made it so special was that the film had been made in 1999 but never released. “A geriatric romantic comedy starring the late James Earl Jones (the Star Wars films), another Mississippi treasure, and Lynn Redgrave (Georgy Girl) may have seemed too controversial at the time, but the Vicksburg audience enjoyed it all those years ago, and now they can see it again,” recalled Daniel Boone, film programmer for the Strand.

After years of negotiating and a new restoration, the film is opening in theaters around the country.

“Although Charles left Vicksburg as a child and moved to the Los Angeles area, his films often reflect the reality that the people he grew up around there were mostly from the south,” according to Boone. “I wish he could be with us for this show, but I’m not giving up on getting him back here again. And it’s certainly a shame that James Earl Jones, who passed away in September of 2024, didn’t live to see this film finally in theaters.”

Burnett is the winner of an Honorary Academy Award® for lifetime achievement, and remains one of our country’s most celebrated independent filmmakers. In his charming The Annihilation of Fish, 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) where 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.

“Burnett has made a simple yet beguiling film about how two imperfect people can find a kind of perfection in each other's company — and how sometimes in life, and in the movies, good things do come to those who wait.” – Justin Chang, NPR

“For much too long, ‘The Annihilation of Fish’ has been in limbo. It took many years and endless persistence to rescue this beautiful, delicate picture… I’m so happy that it’s finally ready for the world to discover.” – Martin Scorsese

The Annihilation of Fish will be shown at the Strand Theatre in downtown Vicksburg on Saturday, March 22 at 7 PM. Tickets are $10 at the door and available for $9 in advance at Highway 61 Coffeehouse.
And the popcorn is free...