The animated drama sci-fi film Moonfish, marking Daniel Zvereff’s directorial debut, premiered today, September 6, 2026, at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. Presented within the Biennale College Cinema section, Moonfish holds the unique distinction of being the sole animated feature selected for this year’s festival program.
Zvereff not only directed but also wrote and edited Moonfish. The film features Lucy Liu and Morgan Spector, who lend their voices to the characters and served as executive producers for the project. The narrative follows an astronaut who loses his only companion during a deep space mining mission. As he faces years of solitude and a strict corporate quota, his grip on reality begins to unravel.
Visually, Moonfish utilizes a distinctive monochrome 2D animation style. Director Daniel Zvereff stated his intention for the film to be an allegory for the modern human condition, which he characterized as ‘solitude, corporate techno-oligarchies, and living through screen-mediated lives’. Zvereff’s inspiration for the film’s thematic core stemmed from a personal experience with a medical misdiagnosis, which led him to deep reflection on time, mortality, and heightened awareness. Lucy Liu and Morgan Spector have also participated in discussions about their roles and how the film allegorically depicts the current human condition.
The development and production of Moonfish took place within the Venice festival’s Biennale College Cinema advanced training laboratory. The film also received a grant from La Biennale di Venezia, notably becoming the first animated film to be awarded such a grant.