Director Watch Podcast Ep. 151 – ‘The Annihilation of Fish’ (Burnett, 1999)
On episode 151 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter discuss the last film in their Charles Burnett series, The Annihilation of Fish (1999).
Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys attempt to break down, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love.
After making a wild turn with The Glass Shield in 1994, Burnett went back to his roots, making a smaller indie drama about two people who are polar opposites that fall in love. The Annihilation of Fish is another gem from the director, exploring love at an older age, the effects of mental health on the lonely, and how hard it must feel to grow old alone; a thought too painful to even think about. Ryan and Jay break down their thoughts on the film, the performances of Lynn Redgrave and James Earl Jones, how The Annihilation of Fish fits within the themes of the series so far, give their rankings for the series, as well as tease what their next film series is going to be.
You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page.
This podcast runs 1h28m. The guys will be back next week to begin their series on the films of Christopher Nolan with a review of his film, Following. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.
Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).
Engrossed with all things Oscars, he hosts the AwardsWatch Podcast, alongside members of the AwardsWatch Team. He is also the co-host of the Director Watch podcast with Jay Ledbetter, covering director movie series of cinemas’ greatest auteurs.
Ryan covers multiple film festivals a year including Sundance, SXSW, Telluride, Toronto, New York, Middleburg, and AFI where he reviews films and interviews top talent.
When he’s not watching movies, he’s rooting on all his favorite sports teams, including his beloved Texas Longhorns. He is also a member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (LEJA) and the Houston Film Critics Society (HFCS).
Jay Ledbetter is a finance manager by day, film critic by night living in Atlanta, Georgia. He began writing about film in 2013 and is not afraid to confront people of all ages if they are too loud in the theater.
As well as his reviews, Jay is the co-host of the Director Watch podcast with Ryan McQuade, our director movie series covering cinemas’ greatest auteurs. In addition to his work at AwardsWatch, Jay has written and hosted podcasts for Film Inquiry and InSession Film. He is an auteur obsessive, regularly diving deep into the filmographies of celebrated filmmakers.
Jay is a proud member of the Atlanta Film Critics Circle and the Georgia Film Critics Association.
Director Watch Podcast Ep. 151 – ‘The Annihilation of Fish’ (Burnett, 1999) 
2026 San Francisco International Film Festival Reviews: ‘Two Pianos,’ ‘If I Go Will They Miss Me,’ ‘Filipiñana,’ ‘Elder Son’ [SFFILM] 
‘Idiots’ Review: Dave Franco and O’Shea Jackson Jr. Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore [B] Atlanta Film Festival 
Ildikó Enyedi’s ‘Silent Friend’ Among 2026 SFFILM Honorees of the Sloan Science in Cinema Initiative