Ghana · Creative industry
How Ghana’s The Fisherman went from a €200,000 grant to festival screens
The Fisherman was one of four features that Biennale College Cinema selected for production funding in January 2024. The Ghana-set comedy played Venice that August and reached festivals in New York and Auckland in 2025.
Sources checked
- 3 Sep 2023Development shortlist
La Biennale chose 12 of 184 projects. The Fisherman entered with director Zoey Martinson and producer Kofi Owusu Afriyie. Source 1
- Oct 2023First workshop
La Biennale scheduled a ten-day workshop for director and producer teams from the shortlist. Source 1
- 10 Jan 2024Production grant
Four projects moved into production with a grant of €200,000 each. Source 2
- 30 Aug 2024Venice screening
A public ticketed screening took place at Sala Giardino on the Lido. Source 4
- 30 Aug to 30 Sep 2024Limited online festival window
The film was part of Sala Web, which opened each title on its premiere day and closed its limited online run on 30 September. Source 5
- Sep 2024Venice collateral award
The festival records the CICT and UNESCO Enrico Fulchignoni award for the feature. Source 6
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- May 2025New York African Film Festival
Film at Lincoln Center listed the feature as a New York premiere. Source 7
- 2025American Black Film Festival awards
The festival archive records awards for best narrative feature and best director. Source 8
- Sep 2025African Film Festival New Zealand
The Auckland festival included the 105-minute feature in its 2025 programme. Source 9
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Source 1 Source 2 Source 3 Source 4 Source 5 Source 6 Source 7 Source 8 Source 9
The grant followed two rounds of selection
La Biennale says 184 projects entered the 2023 to 2024 edition. Twelve reached the first workshop, around 6.5% of entries. Four reached production, or about 2.2% of the original pool. The submissions included Italian and international calls, so those shares describe the combined edition. Source 1 Source 2
The film went to Venice with a 105-minute cut
The programme credits Zoey Martinson as director and screenwriter and Luu Vision Media for production, with Kofi Owusu Afriyie and Korey Jackson. A separate schedule records a ticketed public screening at Sala Giardino. The organiser also made the film available for a limited festival streaming window. Source 3 Source 4 Source 5
Awards and programme listings trace the next stages
Venice lists the CICT and UNESCO prize among its independently awarded collateral honours. Film at Lincoln Center later billed its screening as the New York premiere. The American Black Film Festival archive lists two awards and the African Film Festival New Zealand catalogue documents the feature in Auckland. Source 6 Source 7 Source 8 Source 9
Production support is one part of the business record
The €200,000 is the production grant stated by La Biennale. A full production budget would also account for other cash and in-kind costs. The festival listings document exhibition. Ticket sales, territory rights, and the terms of any distribution deal would need separate records. Source 2 Source 4 Source 7
Sources
- La Biennale, 12 projects selected for Biennale College Cinema
- La Biennale, final selection and production grants
- Venice Film Festival programme, The Fisherman
- Venice Film Festival public screening schedule
- Venice Film Festival, 2024 Sala Web programme
- Venice Film Festival, collateral awards
- Film at Lincoln Center, New York African Film Festival 2025 programme
- American Black Film Festival, awards archive
- African Film Festival New Zealand, 2025 programme