Mercury Twin Cinemas is hosting a special community release of the black comedy-mystery, Notes From a Fish, starting Sunday, 7th December – 2025!
Filmmaker Tom Levesque, raised on Coromandel summers, brings this highly-anticipated film to the big screen after selling out theatres during the NZ International Film Festival. It’s packed with the dry, oddball humour that Kiwis know and love.
The film follows a struggling writer and an eccentric fisheries officer hunting down a missing fish… and stumbling into something far stranger. It’s surreal, funny, and surprisingly heartfelt—the perfect laugh we all need heading into Christmas!
Special Event: Join the Q&A session following the screening on Sunday, 7th December at Mercury Twin Cinemas, Whitianga.
If you’re into funny, offbeat stories (or just want to support local filmmakers doing cool things), grab some mates and we’ll see you there.
Tickets available at the cinema.
We’re excited to announce that Coromind is giving away two pairs of tickets (that’s four tickets!) to see the new film, Notes From a Fish! To enter the draw, simply tell us in the comments of our giveaway post: “What inspires you to be happy in Hauraki-Coromandel?” The lucky winners will be drawn this coming Wednesday, 3rd December. Good luck!
After selling out theatres across the country at Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival, the micro-budget feature film, Notes from a Fish, is set for a limited theatrical release.
The screwball-comedy-mystery follows a would-be novelist’s creative drought which turns chaotic when his muse, a psychic fish, disappears and drags him into a journey of bizarre misadventures with an unstable fisheries officer.
NZIFF Head Programmer, Michael McDonnell reflected on the film’s success at NZIFF as being “The sleeper comedy hit of this year’s film festival”, with multiple sell-outs and encore screenings to meet demand. The film will now return to New Zealand screens in select theaters throughout Auckland, Hamilton, Coromandel, Wellington and Christchurch from December 2nd.
FROM DIY ROOTS TO CINEMATIC SPLASH
Made with a micro-budget of $10,000 and a tiny crew of four personnel, Notes From a Fish is the sophomore feature from Tom Levesque (Shut Eye, NZIFF 2022, MIFF 2023) and producer Eva Trebilco (Shut Eye), marking the co-directorial debut of Romy Hooper, who also stars.
Blending deadpan humour, emotional truths and offbeat storytelling, Notes from a Fish features Kiwi screen icons Tom Sainsbury (Loop Track), Yvette Parsons (Educators), Morgana O’Reilly (The White Lotus), Mark Mitchinson (M3GAN), Adam Gardiner (Sparticus), Arlo Gibson (Nude Tuesday), John Leigh (The Lord of the Rings), Dan Watterson (Whina) and Elisabeth Easther (The Brokenwood Mysteries). Recent Toi Whakaari graduate, Emilio Mancilla, takes the lead in his first major feature role, alongside Romy Hooper (Sweet Tooth) as Charlie, an eccentric ex-Fisheries Officer.
Writer and director Tom Levesque says: “We were blown away with the reception at NZIFF, so it’s terrific to know that even more Kiwi audiences will get the chance to experience this strange journey about a writer and his psychic fish that packs a ton of heart”.
Early reviews from NZIFF on The Spinoff have praised performances in the film with “Newcomer Emilio Mancilla delivers a perfectly understated performance” and noted how micro budget films can still hit the mark with audiences “A reminder that cash isn’t king, and doing something for nothing can be nourishing, joyful and produce something good!”
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