‘The Waves’ | A Poetic Short Film

There is a long-standing myth that Black people and water do not mix.

The myth is so deep-seated that there are bodies of scholarly work dedicated to the narrative. The result of this long-standing stereotype can have negative ramifications across generations.

But what if we disrupt these narratives and remember our ancestral connections to water? How do we revive our relationships to one of life’s most essential building blocks? And what role can art play in this work of repair, reconnection, and remembering?

'The Waves', is the latest poetic short film offering by multi-award winning writer, producer, performer, and creative director, Siana Bangura.

The film is the latest manifestation of the artist's decade-long explorations of the complex relationship between Black people and water, and follows Siana's award-winning play, 'Swim, Aunty, Swim!', exploring the interconnections between grief and loss, water and healing.

  • Siana Bangura
    Director
  • Siana Bangura
    Writer
  • Siana Bangura
    Producer
    '1500 & Counting'
  • Siana Bangura
    Key Cast
  • Anni Domingo
    Key Cast
  • Karlina Grace-Paseda
    Key Cast
  • Kevin Paul Lawrence
    Director of Photography
  • Chloe Deakin
    Film Editor
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short, Other
  • Genres:
    Poetry, Film, Short Film, Experimental, Storytelling, Theatre
  • Runtime:
    5 minutes 12 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 12, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    2,500 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Sierra Leone Arts & Culture Festival 2025
    London
    United Kingdom
    November 1, 2025
    London Premiere
  • TAMIZHAGAM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2026
    CHENNAI
    India
    January 22, 2026
    Asia Premiere
    Best International Short Film
  • The IndieFEST Film Awards 2026
    La Jolla, California
    United States
    January 22, 2026
    Women Filmmaker - Merit; Art Direction - Merit
Director Biography - Siana Bangura

Siana Bangura (pronounced ‘see-anna’) is a multi-award winning writer, producer, performer, curator, creative director, and community organiser, hailing from South East London, currently living, working, and creating between London and the West Midlands.
Siana is the founder and former editor of the Black British Feminist platform, No Fly on the WALL; she is the author of the critically acclaimed debut collection, ‘Elephant’, a book of poetry meditating on Black British womanhood and life growing up in London; the producer of ‘1500 & Counting’, a documentary film investigating deaths in custody and police brutality in the UK; the founder of Courageous Films, a social-justice focused documentary production house; and Producer at Siana Bangura Productions, a creative studio focusing on curating work, events and multi-layered experiences across the arts with care and intention. She is also co-founder and co-curator of the Sierra Leone Arts & Culture Festival (SLACfest).

As a playwright, Siana’s recent works include the play ‘Swim, Aunty, Swim!’, which was named Best New Play at the UK Theatre Awards and recognised at the Black British Theatre Awards 2024.

A multi-disciplinary leader, Siana works and campaigns on issues of race, class, and gender and their intersections and is currently working on projects focusing on climate justice, the arms trade, Tech Justice, and state violence. Her work has featured in publications such as The Guardian, The Metro, Evening Standard, Black Ballad, Consented, Green European Journal, The Fader, and Dazed as well as the 'Loud Black Girls' anthology, presented by Slay In Your Lane.

Across her vast portfolio of work, Siana’s mission is to help move voices and experiences traditionally marginalised, from the margins, to the centre.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

As an artist of migrant descent, I am necessarily preoccupied with issues of race, class, gender and their many intersections. My work and practice are multi-disciplinary and multi-layered, with a vast portfolio of work addressing climate justice, the arms trade, Tech Justice, state violence, and alternative governances. In this season of my work I am deeply engaged in beauty, power, and wonder of water as a source of inspiration, a metaphor for life, a central character in mythology and folklore, and as a more-than-human teacher.

As a poet, my first body of work - my debut collection of poetry, ‘Elephant’ - was a meditation on Black British womanhood and girlhood, and a testimony to the power of mothers in all of us. The motif of the elephant has been present in my work throughout the last decade, due to its associations with memory, maternal lineage, fertility, altruism, loyalty, and wisdom. It is also said that elephants are associated with water and rainfalls, which is a fortuitous bridge to this current season of my work where I am preoccupied with bodies of water.

'The Waves' is the latest manifestation of my ongoing decade-long explorations of the complex relationship between Black people and water, and follows my multi-award-winning play, 'Swim, Aunty, Swim!', exploring the interconnections between grief and loss, water and healing.