'Fish Have No Psychiatrists' now streaming
"Fish Have No Psychiatrists: A Day With Andrei Codrescu," a feature film directed
by UNCSA Professor Emeritus Julian Semilian, can now be viewed on AppleTV, Amazon
Prime Video and other major streaming services. The film features an original musical
score composed by UNCSA School of Music alumna Laura Semilian.
"Fish Have No Psychiatrists: A Day With Andrei Codrescu" is a creative documentary
collage centering around the life and times of poet, novelist, public speaker and
NPR commentator Andrei Codrescu. 60 years after director Julian Semilian and Andrei
meet on a plane while emigrating from România to the United States, Julian visits
Andrei in Brooklyn for a freewheeling day of 20th Century nostalgia and current creative
insights.
Andrei’s eyewitness takes us on a complex, sometimes contradictory, and ever creative
journey. Born in Transylvania to a Jewish family during the aftermath of WWII, Andrei
experienced the effects of two twentieth century totalitarianisms before his emigration
from România in 1966.
Arriving in the United States, he gained quick prominence in the urgent literary scene
of the beatniks and beyond, and delighted three decades of audiences through his weekly
essays on National Public Radio.
Now, across seas, states and several decades, "Fish Have No Psychiatrists: A Day With
Andrei Codrescu," offers 21st Century audiences passports to Andrei’s defiantly playful
worlds. Audiences encounter histories and methods of Dada and Surrealism, cultural
muses and musings on the self, theories of reverse evolution and other fish-food for
thought.
Laura Semilian’s original score accompanies throughout with a kaleidoscopic fusion
of influences ranging from traditional folk to Western classical idioms to the avant-garde,
in evocative interplay with the film’s visual and narrative segments. Prominent poets,
actors and filmmakers appearing in the film include Anne Waldman, Will Alexander,
Charles Bernstein, Alice Notley, Emile Worthy, Chris Mulkey, and Walter Murch. Clark
Peterson ("Monster," Khalil Gibran’s "The Prophet"), a UNCSA School of Filmmaking
guest artist, served as executive producer.
Deborah LaVine, Dean of the School of Filmmaking, wrote of her enthusiasm for the
film: “genius and genius collided to make a very extraordinary film. Laura Semilian’s
aural tapestry still haunts me. Truly a special piece of art.” Film Editor Michael
Tronick ("Scent of a Woman," "Hairspray") writes: “The visual creativity in your film
is fresh and imaginative. I loved seeing the fish with human bodies walking around
NYC. Laura’s telling of the story of Jonah and the Whale is terrific.”
George Quasha, renowned artist and poet and publisher of Station Hill Press comments:
“…oncoming waves of enthusiasm, laughter, joy and other extreme and inappropriate
behavior… beautiful sounds throughout…we loved it. When can we expect a sequel?”
Julian credits his years serving as professor at the UNCSA School of Filmmaking with
helping shape his vision as a filmmaker: “When I began working at the school in 1998
I was already an experienced film editor. I soon realized that teaching what I knew
was another kind of skill, and one of the most rewarding endeavors any human can engage
in. Creating stages upon which the profound art of crafting cinema can be shared led
me to deeper contemplations and innovative possibilities. I am grateful to UNCSA and
for opportunities to practice the art of teaching, which contributed so much to the
making of this film.“
The film screened at UNCSA during RiverRun International Film Festival in April 2024,
with a Q&A moderated by Michael Miller. Many UNCSA students, faculty, staff and alumni
participated in the making of the film:
- School of Filmmaking faculty Mark Messick was post production recordist and co-sound designer.
- Alumnus Jake Bellew ('14) was director of photography.
- The film was co-edited by alumna Kelly Donnellan ('00) with additional editing by alumna Olivia Moore ('22).
- The animation was executed by alumna Echo Wilson ('20).
- Alumnus Soren Candell (2023) did the color correction.
- School of Filmmaking faculty Michael Miller served as post-production advisor.
The film was partially funded by grants from The Kenan Institute for the Arts and
Faculty Development Grants.
The following people, in no particular order, all part of present or past UNCSA family,
worked on the film in various capacities: Dale Pollock, Leanna Lawrence, Cameron Morton,
Emma Factor, Nile Harris, Joe Hoenig, Maria Cristina Marrero, Dyer Rhodes, Aly Lee,
Rosemary Millar, Carolina Sandecka, Sierra Jallad, Brandi McKinnon, Betsy Townes,
Pooja Gupta, Erika Sharp, Julia Houghton, Nadezhda Amé, Heather Lathrop, Johanna Salo,
Lynne Stumpf, Raunak Kapoor, Will Smith, Robindeep Singh, Mayra Rodas, Busola Adeboyejo,
Sylvia Massey, Fer MacFairlane, Rhonda Davis, Lauren Vilchik, Laura McKinny, Vianelli
DeLeon, Spencer Dowdy, Renata Jackson, Kate Miller, Robert Gosse, Dasha Mazaeva, Crystal
Janeen Williams Brown, Dolores Watson, Will Henderson,Anne Sutton, Clara Hirata, Jacob
Groner, Sam Wiener, Isaac Balachandrian, Erin Gallagher, Ralph Parker, Dimitri Dikhel,
Dario Seastedt, Peter Buck, Shannon Bartos, Summer Girston, Joanna Lechner, Katelyn
Addkisson, Sophia Williams, Patrick Dodds, Carter Bailey, Daniel Christie, Logan Esco.
Many of the people in the Special Thanks section are also part of the UNCSA family:
Cat Clifford, Thomas Ackerman, Deborah LaVine, Brian Best, Tiger Poston, Stephanie
Colopy, Jonathon Rhodes, Nate Wiggins, Mariah Manning, Clint Smith, Lauren Vilchik.