Notes from a Fish

Maybe my fate is that I will never be good enough.

– Aspiring novelist Leroy (Emilio Mancilla) on his biggest fear

Who are you, mate? Who is the 'real' Leroy? That's what I want to know.

– Literary agent Kyle (Thomas Sainsbury) grills Leroy (Emilio Mancilla)

Bring the book down, and just look out...like, contemplating. But like, more normal.

– Jacob (Arlo Gibson) directs an 'artistic' author's portrait shoot.

As creative people I think - and particularly in a country like ours, where there's not often a lot of outlet to explore what you would like to creatively - the theme of I guess having something really bizarre and really out there to rely on to be able to get all of your creative juice from is not necessarily uncommon.

– Co-director and producer Romy Hooper on the theme of creatives seeking unusual forms of inspiration, RNZ, 25 November 2025

Tom was the co-director, the DOP [director of photography] so he was behind the camera, he was also editing, which meant when you're shooting something in a 10-day period and then you jump straight into an edit of that, it's really fresh in your memory. He remembered takes like 'oh no, wait, we didn't like that one. We liked the one after that'.

– Producer Romy Hooper on her co-director's many credits on low-budget comedy Notes from a Fish, RNZ, 25 November 2025

Newcomer Emilio Mancilla gives a perfect understated performance that makes you think he is possibly just being himself (his online bio suspiciously includes writer alongside actor).

– Excerpt from a review by Gabi Lardies for The Spinoff, 12 August 2025