An aspiring novelist finds inspiration gurgling down the drain when his unconventional muse, a tropical fish, goes missing in this darkly absurd romp through the mean-ish streets of Auckland’s inner suburbs.
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Notes from a Fish 2025
Session dates and venues to be announced
Leroy (Emilio Mancilla) is battling to get his debut novel completed, struggling through a bout of writer’s block while house sitting for a friend. He finds his creative breakthrough in the eyes of the iridescent fish, Kirby, that has been left in his care – not just inspiring, Kirby seems to actively unlock something in Leroy’s mind. Soon he’s ready to pitch a fully formed colonial ghost story to his potential literary agent (a fantastically smarmy Tom Sainsbury).
Before he can take full advantage of his maritime muse, the writer wakes to find Kirby missing, assumedly fish-napped. This kicks off a comic odyssey through the underbelly of Auckland’s rare fish blackmarket and the cruel vagaries of the local literary scene. Joined in his quest by Charlie (Romy Hooper), an unstable nautical private eye, Leroy is pushed well out of his comfort zone as he confronts a series of kooks and misfits in search of his wayward psychic fish.
Part crime caper, part screwball comedy, Notes from a Fish delights in taking its hapless characters through a gauntlet of truly unfortunate events. Co-directors Tom Levesque and Romy Hooper both leave distinctive prints on the film; Levesque brings along the paranoid obsession of his earlier feature Shut Eye, while Hooper provides sure-footed comic chops both in front of and behind the camera. Along for the silly, twisty ride are some familiar faces of Aotearoa screens, including Arlo Gibson, Yvette Parsons, and John Leigh, making up a beguiling, weird cast of characters for this waggish fishy tale. — Adrian Hatwell