Welcome to this, the third annual Allan Fish Online Film Festival (AF OFF 2019)! The festival will begin on Tuesday, May 28th (Allan’s 46th birthday) with a post by me, Jamie, and will (potentially) end on Saturday, June 8th, with a concluding post by Sam Juliano. As with the festivals for the previous two years, we’ll have additional participants honor our late, great film aficionado Allan Fish by curating their own day in the film festival hosted by the site that Allan and Sam called home (and still do), Wonders in the Dark.
In selecting their work for their specified day, the rules will follow previous years; each day will see a new chairman host the festivities and select a film that is available to be watched by anyone, online for free, from a popular streaming site (youtube, vimeo, dailymotion, etc.). The host for that day will decide how the film they chose will be presented; an essay, a sparse teaser introduction, or ‘other’ (the creativity seen on the blogosphere for film commentary knows no bounds as we all know). Thus, conceivably the film festival could be nearly real; people anywhere on the globe watching the same film, at roundabout the same time. (Note: Any type or genre of film can be chosen, as well as films of any length.)
It’ll probably come as no surprise that every year I have a slightly different idea about the graphics for the festival that honors our late, great cinephile and friend Allan Fish. For example, The first year was largely sarcastic, but beautiful; a beta fish recalled Allan’s last name in a cheeky manner, and the particular fish—hostile and combative to other males in its species—honored his prickly and authoritative style. The artwork showed his aquatic likeness merging into black and becoming actual film, while the year after stuck to the classic aura of Tinseltown and old Hollywood and merged the logo into a pixilation of a streaming browser media player that signifies the rules and venue of the Festival. This year appears more somber, black and white and grey, with color only appearing in muted pastels. For the first time the festival appears sad and mournful, but in the twist is everything recalls Allan Fish’s favorite film, Eros + Massacre, with the graphic presentation dropped over screenshots and representations of Yoshida’s work.
I hope everyone will again enjoy the Allan Fish Online Film Festival, and for those set to participate in selection or merely in the comments threads below (or on social media), I say, thank you and I look forward to conversing about what always promises to be wonderfully revelatory and highly enjoyable selections!
Click on names for archives
Writers/Founders
Wonders in the Dark 
The first year was largely sarcastic, but beautiful; a beta fish recalled Allan’s last name in a cheeky manner, and the particular fish—hostile and combative to other males in its species—honored his prickly and authoritative style. The artwork showed his aquatic likeness merging into black and becoming actual film, while the year after stuck to the classic aura of Tinseltown and old Hollywood and merged the logo into a pixilation of a streaming browser media player that signifies the rules and venue of the Festival. This year appears more somber, black and white and grey, with color only appearing in muted pastels. For the first time the festival appears sad and mournful, but in the twist is everything recalls Allan Fish’s favorite film, Eros + Massacre, with the graphic presentation dropped over screenshots and representations of Yoshida’s work.
Ah Jamie, this framing of the thematic significance of the art is magnificently delineated. I had not previously formed a comparative hypothesis, but thinking back it all makes such perfect and meaningful sense. Brilliant passage and one that will surely amuse, move and stir readers, while simultaneously preparing them for the third year of the noble venture you founded. The “sarcasm” you speak of for the maiden year is surely something Allan would have appreciated as his saucy wit was a large part of his incomparable persona, which yes was bordered with that trademark “prickly and authoritative style.” And isn’t it so appropriate to incorporate his beloved “Eros + Massacre” a film that he unveiled to the internet world more passionately even than the work’s still living creator? The art is wholly sublime.
Stunning art! I’ll be aboard for the entire week! Thank you!
Lovely artwork Jamie. It is nice to know the reasoning behind each poster. I really like how you used EROS as an inspiration for this year’s poster because if it weren’t for Allan, I would not have ever seen that film. I think my memory of this film will be always associated with him and his placing this at #1 in his list.
Looking forward to yours and all the entries for this festival.
The art is truly exceptional. I know Allan is looking down, completely godsmacked!
Eros + Massacre = Allan Fish. Marvelous equation!
Reblogged this on Noirish and commented:
***Each year since the death of its co-founder, Allan Fish, the movies-and-more website Wonders in the Dark mounts a short “online film festival”: in daily posts, different writers each talk about a movie that can be accessed for free online.