ZJILI: A STORY OF SISTERHOOD AND THE BURDENS OF EXCESS – Review by Leslie Combemale

The word in the film’s title means “heavy” or load”, and that’s what is being placed, both physically and emotionally, on the lead character Zoya (Rahana Abdallah). A gifted student, her plans for higher education are thwarted when her father dies, and she’s betrothed to a man twice her age. She escapes to Accra with her mother’s blessing, but finds herself trapped in a dead end job as one of many female porters carrying heavy loads for paying customers. Like so many women and girls who surround her, she’s trying to make enough money to make her specific dreams a reality.

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MOVIE OF THE WEEK September 18, 2026: THE FISHERMAN

A tradition-loving Ghanaian fisherman who scoffs at the idea of electronic fish finders and turns up his nose at social media and smartphones learns that the modern world isn’t all bad in writer-director Zoey Martinson’s charming feature debut The Fisherman. And the fact that he does it with the help of a cheeky talking fish and a trio of energetic and aspiring young people makes his journey all the more whimsical.

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