[1][2] The story follows the elephant keeper in the Beijing Zoo who maintains an aquarium of fish in her home (hence the two-animal title), and her lesbian lover, a fabric saleswoman in an outdoor market.

The two leads, Xiaoqun (Pan Yi) and Xiaoling (Shitou), were cast after Li began visiting various lesbian bars in Beijing.

[1] Some have reported that this focus on amateurs was only partially by choice, in that Li had been unable to sign on established talent due to the controversial script and story.

[1] Fortunately for Li, copies of Fish and Elephant eventually managed to screen at over 70 different film festivals around the world.

Upon its dissemination to international audiences, Fish and Elephant was praised for being groundbreaking in subject matter, but mediocre in execution.