Private Project

The Fisherman Short

An aging fisherman goes out to sea one day and returns with a talking fish. Set in Ghana West Africa, this quirky comedy explores our need to stay relevant against the backdrop of a developing nation.

  • Zoey Martinson
    Director
  • Zoey Martinson
    Writer
  • Kofi Owusu Afriyie
    Producer
  • Zoey Martinson
    Producer
  • Emmanuel France
    Key Cast
    "The Fisherman, Ataa Oko"
  • Dulo Harris
    Key Cast
    "The Fish"
  • Elizabeth Norty
    Key Cast
    "Wife, Akweley"
  • Grace Acquaye
    Key Cast
    "Market Woman"
  • Godwin Ashong
    Key Cast
    "Traditional Healer"
  • Patrick Oteng Marmah
    Key Cast
    "Chief"
  • Ziggy Netteyson
    Key Cast
    "Boat Chief"
  • Kiki-Romi
    Key Cast
    "Emmanuel"
  • Abdallah Hughes Elorm
    Key Cast
    "Kobina"
  • Gifty Mawuena Sossavi
    Key Cast
    "Efua, The Vendor"
  • Trust Agottor
    Key Cast
    "Tro Tro Mate"
  • Gideon Dewell Charway
    Key Cast
    "The Fish Puppeteer"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 47 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 31, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Ghana
  • Country of Filming:
    Ghana
  • Language:
    English, Other
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • HBO Short Film at ABFF
    Miami
    United States
    June 14, 2019
    Finalist for HBO Shorts
  • Durban International Film Festival
    Durban
    South Africa
    July 20, 2019
    South African
    Official Selection
  • Encounters Film Festival
    Bristols
    United Kingdom
    September 27, 2019
    UK Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Pan African Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    February 14, 2019
    Programmers Award Best Narrative Short Film
  • Black Star International Film Festival
    Accra
    Ghana
    August 22, 2019
    Ghanaian Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Brussels Short Film Festival
    Brussels
    Belgium
    May 1, 2019
    Belgium
    International Competition
  • Hollyshorts Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    August 17, 2019
    Official Selection
  • Bronzelens Film Festival
    Atlanta
    Georgia
    August 24, 2019
    Georgia Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Cinquest Film & VR Festival
    San Jose
    United States
    March 17, 2019
    Official Selection
  • Bermuda International Film Festival
    Hamilton
    Bermuda
    March 13, 2019
    Official Selection
  • Festival International du Film PanAfricain de Cannes
    Cannes
    France
    April 17, 2019
    French
    Official Selection
  • Oxford Film Festival
    Oxford
    United States
    February 9, 2019
    Official Selection
  • Hollywood Comedy Short Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    April 20, 2019
    Official Selection
  • Chicago Comedy Film Festival
    Chicago
    United States
    April 5, 2019
    Chicago
    Official Selection
Distribution Information
  • HBO
    Country: United States
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Zoey Martinson

Producer/ Director of Smoke & Mirrors Collaborative. Her play Olityelwe (Formally Ndebele Funeral) won the Overall Excellence Award for Best Play in the New York City Fringe Festival, toured South Africa and Scotland’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival after a run Off- Broadway at 59E59 Theaters. Her short film La Oposición recently won the Grand Jury Prize at The March on Washington Film Festival and Special Jury Award at Souq Film Festival in Milan. Martinson co-created/ directed Skype Duet, winning the 100 Grand award at the HAU2 Theater in Berlin then toured throughout Europe. Directed world premiere of Jeremy Kamps’ Gutting at the National Black Theater in Harlem. She produced and directed an Arts Mission for the U.S. Consul General to South Africa’s informal settlements. She was the acting coach for Netflix 'Beasts of No Nation’ and upcoming feature film ‘Skate Kitchen'.

Martinson holds an MFA from NYU TISCH. Directing Fellow at Manhattan Theater Club, Dramatist Guild Playwriting Fellow, and formerly an Artistic Mentor Fellow at Lincoln Center. Her work has been nominated for Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award, featured on BBC World Service and published in five anthologies. Recently named the 18 Women Making Black History by Popsugar.com She is currently developing her new piece “The Black History Museum… According to the United States of America” at HERE Arts Center in NYC.
She is also developing a new Virtual Reality project called #HashtagProject that recently went up in the Vorspiel at the Transmediale in Berlin.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Jamestown is a section of Accra, Ghana that is home to the fishing community and market. The fort at Jamestown was built in the 17th century and the area has served as the port for the Fisherman in the countries capital. When you venture down from the lighthouse you uncover a community that has been fishing in the exact same way for decades, yet around them a modern city has creeped in. Recently the fisherman have been given a notice to vacate the area and relocate so the city can build a new port or mall along the water. In three months time this community will be gone, so we thought this film might be a great way to document pieces of their way of life before it’s displaced.

My fascination with the fisherman started ten years ago while I was teaching in a rural school in Ghana’s Volta Region. During my days off I would venture out to sea with the fisherman and in the afternoon after classes I would join the rest of the town in pulling-in the net. We would spread the fish along the sand and divide them up for people to eat that evening. While living in Keta I was interested in finding a creative way to tell these fisherman’s story. I was also intrigued with how much longer these communities can maintain their traditional practices while the modern world floods in around them.

Working closely with Producer Kofi Afriyie and the entire Ghanian creative team helped me to tell an authentic story that captures a time of transition in Ghana. Together we are humbled to have captured a little story of a fisherman who wakes up one day to a world passing him by.