FISHTANK
Wendi Tang’s stunning new short FISHTANK follows Jules (Tiffany Chu), a Chinese American woman, who has been sober for a year, but can’t stop vomiting goldfish. Things take an unexpected turn when she suddenly meets a fish enthusiast.
In Wendi Tang‘s HollyShorts film, FISHTANK, Jules is sober, but now, instead of vomiting from alcohol, she throws up goldfish. When she meets a new partner who seems to love the fish, her path to recovery gets slippery.
Jay Swuen‘s cinematography is elegant and immersive. Startling angles and stunning close-ups keep you both entranced and off-kilter. The soothing score from Caroline Ho lulls us as this little emotional rollercoaster twists and turns.
Tiffany Chu navigates the complexities of this role with grace. Her physical performance is award-worthy, weaving in and out of sick fits and clouded happiness.
This incredible metaphor for self-worth and addiction, gaslighting, and abusive relationships mesmerizes with its creative magical realism. FISHTANK is unlike anything I’ve seen all year. It is an unexpected reclamation of power.
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/912507205
Fishtank | Trailer from Wendi Tang on Vimeo.
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Year:2024
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Runtime:0:17:04
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Language:English
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Country:USA/China
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Premiere:West Coast
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Rating:G
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Director:Wendi Tang
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Screenwriter:Wendi Tang
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Producer:Philip Yuzhong Ge
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Cast:Tiffany Chu; Isaac W. Jay
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Cinematographer:Jay Swuen
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Editor:Yijuan “Reggie” Zhao; Christine Ho
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Production Design:Cyrum A. Ramírez
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Sound Design:One Thousand Birds
FISHTANK is the Tribeca Women Filmmaker’s Program Winner, the Film Pipeline Short Script Competition Winner in 2022. The film played at the deadCenter Film Festival and SXSW Sydney and will screen at the upcoming Oscar-qualifying Flicker’s Rhode Island International Film Festival and HollyShorts Film Festival.
Wendi Tang is a Los Angeles-based writer/director. She graduated from the NYU Tisch/Stern dual degree program. Wendi’s work focuses on character-driven stories that explore various corners of female narratives. Her short films have been selected by numerous Oscar-qualifying film festivals worldwide, including Flicker’s Rhode Island IFF, the Norwegian Short Film Festival, deadCenter Film Festival, Hollyshorts, and more. She is a 2022 NYC Women’s Fund winner and a BAFTA Connect Member. She’s currently developing her first feature film.
Philip Yuzhong Ge is a Chinese producer based in LA. A graduate of the AFI Producing program, Philip produced 30+ short films, music videos, and commercials. These works have been featured by platforms such as 88rising and Nowness China. His narrative and documentary works were selected by and won awards at multiple Oscar-qualified festivals including Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, Charlotte, Shorts Shorts, and deadCenter. Philip’s most recent producing credits include Worthy (LALIFF/Netflix Inclusion Fellowship), and Gungnir (Sundance TAAF AAPI Collab). Philip is also a 2024 Film Independent Project Involve Producing Fellow and a 2022 Telluride TeamLAB fellow.
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