What is the film about?

‘Ain’t No Fish’ is a short stop motion animated film featuring a bunch of hungry Arctic seals singing along to the music and lyrics of Sigman and Russell as performed by Hoagy Carmichael. It’s an ‘easy-go-lucky’ song about fishing and why ‘Some Days There Just Ain’t No Fish’. As the animated seals sing along to the show tune it’s slowly revealed in the background why there ‘Ain’t No Fish.’ Despite the upbeat attitude of the seals the garbage and oil industry that pervades the sea provides the answer…

A little background information...

Tom and Miki conceived the idea for the film in the early 90’s whilst working together in the UK. Around this time catastrophic events at sea involving oil spills had been having a devastating effect on wildlife and the sea. They were further influenced the optimistic late 1940’s showtune ‘Some Days There Just Ain’t No Fish’, written by Carl Sigman and Bob Russell, and performed by Hoagy Carmichael. They felt the song would lend itself to a contemporary Arctic setting while juxtaposing against the darker subtext of the film. This subtext carries the important message that has compelled film festival attendees worldwide, who see in the film hungry seals trying to fish in a world depleted of this natural resource due to a man’s lack of respect for the environment.

Whilst the idea was originally conceived in the early 90’s the film’s message is just as relevant, if not more relevant, today with overfishing, coastal development and pollution from shipping leading to the degradation of our oceans beyond their natural state. It is estimated that 40% of the world’s oceans are adversely affected by human activities, whilst world’s fisheries are fully exploited, and 32% are overexploited, depleted or recovering from depletion. This means that unless the current situation improves, stock of all species currently fished for food are predicted to collapse by 2048.

How was the film made?

Work on the film also originally began in the 90’s before work commitments put the film on hold. The directing duo’s enthusiasm for the film and idea didn’t wane however, and in 2011 the timing was good for work to resume on ‘Ain’t No Fish’. This was aided with advancements in computer technology since the 90’s that meant the pair could work remotely from their respective homes; Tom in the US and Miki in the UK. The production took around 18 months with both artists working simultaneously on shots and communicating via Skype and Dropbox until the film’s completion in October 2013. For more on how it was made visit: http://www.aintnofish.com