Little Fish (2021 film)

Little Fish is a 2020 American science fiction romantic drama film directed by Chad Hartigan and written by Mattson Tomlin, based on the 2011 short story of the same name by Aja Gabel. It stars Olivia Cooke, Jack O'Connell, Raúl Castillo, and Soko.

It was released on February 5, 2021, by IFC Films.

Premise
A couple fights to hold their relationship together as a memory loss virus spreads and threatens to erase the history of their love and courtship.

Cast

 * Olivia Cooke as Emma Ryerson
 * Jack O'Connell as Jude Williams
 * Raúl Castillo as Benjamin “Ben” Richards
 * Soko as Samantha

Production
In March 2019, it was announced that Chad Hartigan would direct a film adaptation of Aja Gabel's short story "Little Fish", with Mattson Tomlin writing the screenplay, and Olivia Cooke, Jack O'Connell, Raúl Castillo and Soko starring. Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Rian Cahill, Tim Headington, Lia Buman, Chris Ferguson and Tomlin were set to produce the film, while Cooke, Fred Berger, Teddy Schwarzman, Ben Stillman, Michael Heimler and Max Silva would serve as executive producers under their Black Bear Pictures, Automatik, Tango Entertainment and Oddfellows Entertainment banners, respectively.

Principal photography took place from March 11 to April 12, 2019, in British Columbia, Canada.

Release
It was scheduled to have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 17, 2020. However, the festival was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2020, IFC Films acquired North American distribution rights to the film and released it in theaters on February 5, 2021. Stage 6 Films also acquired international distribution rights to the film.

Reception
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 91% approval rating based on 80 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Tough but stirring, Little Fish uses one couple's pandemic love story to illustrate the strength of human connection in trying times." According to Metacritic, which sampled eleven critics and calculated a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, the film received "generally favorable reviews".