Movie Review: ‘The Fisherman’ And Interview With Director Zoey Martinson

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Review by James Lindorf

Director and writer Zoey Martinson spent years bringing her feature film directorial debut to audiences worldwide. The film became Ghana’s first Official Selection at the Venice International Film Festival, where it won UNESCO’s Fellini Medal. It also won multiple awards during a 2025 festival run in the States. “The Fisherman” began a limited US theatrical run on September 18th and will be available digitally on the 29th through Eammon Films.

Atta Oko (Ricky Adelayitar) is a traditional fisherman from a small coastal village, forced into retirement. He believes life’s beauty lives in his family’s and village’s traditions, and that kids with their new ideas and phones are ruining everything. His world flips when he is partnered with a sarcastic, bougie talking fish named Koobi, voiced by Dulo Harris, and pulled into an adventure to Ghana’s capital city, Accra, as he chases his dream of owning a boat. He is pushed by his three young associates: Kobina (William Lamptey) and Emmanuel (Kiki Romi), who mostly handle comic relief, and ShaSha (Endurance Grand), who is a driving force in the story. Working together with a lot of luck and a little magic, they have a chance to change their lives.

Adelayitar is very good here, embodying an older man convinced his time has passed. He is equally as good when making the turn into a true elder, one with compassion for the youth and a real desire to lead them for reasons beyond his own ego. Koobi provides a nice lighthearted counterbalance to his anger and frustration. The fantasy element that drives their partnership couldn’t be simpler: a fake fish carried around with a moving mouth, no complex or unconvincing CGI needed. Their relationship is a common fairy-tale trope: a wise animal arrives to support someone through a period of struggle, just with an unusual costume outside of “The Little Mermaid” playbook. The trip to Accra also puts Atta in unfamiliar territory in another sense, making him a fish out of water in the modern world he’s spent his whole life avoiding.

Endurance Grand making her film debut as ShaSha is a real find. She plays a complex, multifaceted character that allows her to be funny, the straight person in comedic scenes, and she has one of the most personal and dramatic scenes in the film. Performing with Adwoa Akoto, who plays Atta’s daughter Naa, they have a heart-to-heart about how being the woman you are is okay no matter how you choose to do it; you don’t have to conform to traditions or expectations of you. A similarly dramatic scene with Atta’s wife, Akweley (Dorothy Konadu), has her sharing what could be a lifelong hobby and passion she has kept hidden all these years. These moments balance the wise-cracking fish beautifully and help the film transcend fun, silly comedy into great screenwriting.

While Grand is very good, one of the film’s biggest shortcomings comes from ShaSha. She is the daughter of the old Boat Chief, the sister of the current Chief, has a degree in nautical science, and is extremely passionate. Still, village tradition says women can’t be fishermen. While her story concludes the way we want it emotionally, it may not make the most sense logically because we never see her demonstrate that kind of ability on a boat. It might be a bit of wish fulfillment from a director who is herself a young woman making her way in a male-dominated field. I don’t hold that against the film, but it is a gap. Another element pulling the score down slightly is the 108-minute runtime. It is not excessive, but being closer to the 98-minute mark could have made the comedy a little more streamlined. Maybe removing one of the many instances of Koobi telling Atta he will give him the message later, or one of the three layers of hurdles at the bank would have helped.

One positive that can’t be overstated is the collaboration between Martinson and cinematographer Adam Carboni. Together they’ve made a gorgeous film that shows off the beauty of Ghana and its people day or night, indoors or outside, city or village. No matter where a scene lands, the environment and the people look fantastic, and that is genuinely impressive for a film working with a limited budget. Overall, “The Fisherman” is more than good enough to be worth the ticket price, but the story, the visuals, and the sound will all hold up just as well once it hits digital on the 29th. It is funny, it has a real emotional core, and it earns a 4.5 out of 5 from me.

Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): September 18th, 2026, Limited
Release Date (Digital): September 29th, 2026
Runtime: 1h 48m
Director: Zoey Martinson
Producer: Kofi Owusu-Afriyie, Korey Jackson
Screenwriter: Zoey Martinson
Distributor: Eammon Films
Production Co: Luu Vision Media