The Goldfish Club
2025 · 23m
Directed by Max Henderson
Genres: documentary, sports
Tones: humorous, melancholic, surreal, tender
A documentary set in the Cotswolds, England, following three aerial performers — wingwalkers Kirsten Pobjoy and Emma Broadbent, and pilot David Barrell — in the aftermath of a traumatic accident at an air display where their biplane crashed into the sea. The film examines trauma recovery, the performers' profound interdependence, and their decision about whether to return to the dangerous work that brings them the most joy. The title references the real historical 'Goldfish Club,' a society for airmen who have survived ditching into water.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Solo-credited 23-minute 16mm doc on Aaton XTR with wingwalkers recovering from a sea crash — the technical commitment (silent camera so subjects forget it after two weeks) is the kind of patient method I respect. Goldfish Club as a real airmen's society is a perfect title.
16mm shot on an Aaton XTR Prod for camera-quietness, with the director serving as effectively sole crew over a long acclimatization — the methodology alone places this in the Maysles-and-after observational tradition. Wingwalker trauma recovery as a subject deserves exactly this much craft patience.
Twenty-three minutes twenty-seven shot on 16mm with an Aaton XTR Prod (one of the quietest film cameras made) for two weeks of acclimatization until subjects forgot the camera — that's documentary craft I deeply respect. Director as DP/producer/audio/editor solo on this subject (wingwalkers post-crash) is the right scale of intimacy.
Reviews
Funny, touching, and life-affirming, this 23-minute film is impossible to watch without being moved.
A tone that feels authentic, unforced, and deeply affecting.
Festivals
- SXSW Film Festival 2025
- Brooklyn Film Festival 2025
- AfterImage Film Festival 2026