The global run of The Fisherman continues. The film picked up the award for Best International Feature at the 41st Artios Awards, held on 26 February 2026 and presented by the Casting Society of America. The Artios Awards celebrate excellence in casting across film, television series, short films, commercials, and theatre projects.
The award was won by Mawuko Kuadzi, the casting director of The Fisherman, who triumphed over fellow nominees Masunobu Motokawa for Kokuho (Japan) and Karimah El-Giamal for Sound of Falling (Germany).
Kuadzi’s win adds to an already existing track record at the awards. He won last year for Best Commercial for NFL Super Bowl LVIII: “Born to Play,” and also earned a nomination for Nana Akoto in the Best International Series category.
Other winners on the night included Sinners for (Feature Big Budget), Sentimental Value in the Feature Studio or Independent – Drama category, and Zootopia 2 for Feature Animation.
The Fisherman, directed by Zoey Martinson, has enjoyed significant local and international acclaim. The film won Best Ghanaian Film at the 2025 Regal Film Festival Awards (REFFAA), where Ricky Adelayitar (Ata Oko Sackey) also took home Best Actor in a Leading Role. At the 2025 Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) Globe Awards, Martinson won the Best Director award for the film.
On the global stage, it secured Best Director and Best Narrative Feature at the American Black Film Festival. The film made history as Ghana’s first official selection at the Venice Film Festival in 81 years, where it won the CICT UNESCO Enrico Fulchignoni Award in 2024. It also received the Ja’Net Dubois Festival Award for Narrative Film at the 2025 Pan African Film Festival.
