THE STORY

The Marvelous Fish Man is the story of Gus, a man with a fish head who has spent his life confined within the walls of the traveling freak show for which he is the headline act. Our film begins on the night Gus finally decides to escape. Penniless and alone in the outside world that he neither knows nor understands, Gus' hopeful journey quickly becomes one of desperation as one human interaction after another confirms his fear that he will never fit in, and he desperately searches for water to sustain him, and ultimately, to keep him alive. Just when Gus thinks he can make it no further, a curious young girl named Robbin stumbles upon the dried-up Fish Man and helps to revive him. Robbin agrees to help, and together they venture out to find the mythical lake where Gus believes he was born. Their journey finally ends at the lake of Gus' dreams, where his life-changing adventure is halted just steps from the shore when the manager of the freak show that Gus left behind arrives to take back his prized act. In these final moments, Gus must decide weather to pursue his freedom or sacrifice it all for Robbin, the young girl with whom Gus has found his first and only friend. 

THE PROJECT

The Marvelous Fish Man is director Nisan Dag's thesis film at Columbia University's graduate film program where she is an MFA Candidate in Film Directing. It is the culmination of her artistic and creative outlook that has been developed over the course of three years at Columbia and through her collective filmmaking experience. 

The project originated with Nisan's original idea, and she soon took it to producer and co-writer Benjamin Rubin, a student in the Creative Producing program at Columbia who eagerly joined the project. The majority of the crew and key team will be made up of their classmates at Columbia. 

The project will be shot in May, 2012, on location on Long Island and in the Columbia University sound stage. 

THE TEAM

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Nisan Dag 

Nisan is a director and animator from Ankara, Turkey. She is currently living in New York City to pursue her MFA in Film Directing from Columbia University with the aid of the prestigious Fullbright Scholarship. 

PRODUCER/CO-WRITER: Benjamin Rubin

Ben is a film producer who has produced over a dozen short films that have played at festivals across the world. He was an Associate Producer on the upcoming Science Fiction feature film, "In-World War," and is currently producing a feature documentary film. He is currently pursuing his MFA in Creative Producing from Columbia University

CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Wakayama Carey 

JP is well-known around Columbia, where is is pursuing his MFA in Creative Producing, as one of the most talented and prolific cinematographers around. His vast experience includes producing the feature film "10 Years Later," and as a DP, he has shot more than two dozen short films. 

CO-PRODUCER: Perri Nemiroff

Perri is an established online film personality, having worked at NY1, Reel Talk, Cinematical, Cinema Blend and Shockya as a featured columnist and critic. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Creative Producing at Columbia University, where she has produced several successful short films. 

THANK YOU!

This project means a lot to all of us, and we appreciate any support you can give to make it happen! If you cannot support us financially, please help spread the word by posting this page on facebook, tweeting it, emailing it to friends and family, or anything else you can do!

Thanks,

Nisan Dag, Ben Rubin, Perri Nemiroff and John Wakayama Carey