Producer Ed Accura is making another splash with his latest documentary for World Drowning Prevention Day.
Titled “No Lifeguard” and released as a public service announcement, Accura frames the whole film through his own experience of learning to swim.
The British filmmaker and leading advocate for water safety and diversity in aquatics, is best known for his documentary series “Blacks Can’t Swim” which explored his personal journey and the systemic barriers to swimming within minority communities.
According to the World Health Organization, Africa and Asia have the highest drowning rates of any global region. In Ghana, drowning is among the leading causes of unintentional injury death, particularly among children, exacerbated by limited water safety education and swimming facilities. In Sri Lanka, monsoon conditions bring acute seasonal risk, often without corresponding public awareness. Both countries illustrate, in different ways, what happens to a community’s relationship with water when formal lifeguard provision is scarce or absent – the exact condition the film’s central idea responds to.
With World Drowning Prevention Day, a global awareness day that highlights the devastating impact drowning has on families and communities, “No Lifeguard” features conversations about who has historically been left out of water safety messaging why that has to change.
“This film is not about blame. It is about prevention,” says Accura who along with Danielle Obe are co-founders of the Black Swimming Association, a charity working to close the gap in swimming access and water confidence within Black British communities. “It is about helping people understand that their first safety decision happens before they enter the water. Lifeguards are vital, but none of us should outsource our safety completely to someone else. We all have an important role to play.”
“No Lifeguard” will be free to watch on YouTube from 12 am on July 23rd, two days ahead of World Drowning Prevention Day on July 25th.
Check out the trailer here:
