Goldfish

Before you watch Goldfish, written by and starring Jessica Kinsella, if you live outside the US you may not be familiar with the popularity of White Elephant gift exchanges in Jewish American social life. These light-hearted rituals are a common feature of synagogue events, holiday gatherings, and community socials. Borrowed from wider American culture, they value humour over usefulness: the pleasure lies less in the gift itself than in the laughter, storytelling, and social mixing it generates. In a community that often uses comedy to navigate tradition and expectation, the White Elephant exchange works as an easy icebreaker, reinforcing connection and shared identity through collective amusement rather than formality. Or does it (in this particular case)?

OK, explanation over - and yes, you probably could have worked that out anyway. Jessica, convinced that her “brilliant and hilarious” White Elephant gift will inevitably attract a potential future husband, settles on… a goldfish. Acquiring said goldfish proves more challenging than anticipated, and the reactions of the other guests at the party are, unsurprisingly, not quite what she had in mind. This may not be the moment when Jessica finds her match. Or is it?

This is a very tightly scripted piece with a satisfyingly circular ending, delivering a final punch just when you think it has already landed (wait and see - you’ll know when you know). It is also tightly directed by Alexis Krause.

Out of Bounds

Paul 179 is a goldfish – the latest in a series owned by a young man with Aspergers.

He is determined to keep this latest fish alive but when the fish food runs out and its replacement is delivered to the wrong house he must venture out of doors.  This is a charming and unique little story by students at The Animation Workshop.

Harley

Poor little Harley.  This hapless fantail goldfish has not been a success down at the local pet store.  People just keep returning him as damaged goods.  Another day and another return – Harley seems to be the fish that no-one wants to keep.  This charming animated short was created by Tom Teller for his Intermediate Production class at the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.

Atlas' Revenge

Atlas is a playful little fish – quite happy in his tank (unlike another animated fish that we could name, but we won’t!).  However, that happiness comes to an end when a frightening and ominous force is unleashed on his tank.  It’s up to Atlas to put things right!

I’m not quite sure why the animation is set in Italy but to be perfectly honest it makes a great opening sequence so perhaps that’s why!  This lovely animated short is the collective final project of the University of Central Florida’s Department of Digital Media's Visual Language Track, class of '09. Atlas' Revenge took first place in the Industry Animation Category of the SIGGRAPH SpaceTime Competition and Exhibition.