Manchester Film Festival 2025 – Last Swim ★★★★

Released: 4th April 2025

Director: Sasha Nathwani

Starring: Deba Hekmat, Solly McLeod

In a time of turbulent teenage existence, coming-of-age films need to be diversified in order to make young people feel like they are not alone. Director Sasha Nathwani fully understands how important the diversification of the genre is with his debut feature Last Swim, which releases in UK cinemas later next month.

Last Swim is a beautifully vibrant film about the anxieties of adolescence compounded by main character Ziba’s personal health. From the underlying themes of the celestial and the supernatural, to the mesmerising on-screen presence of debut actor Deba Hekmat. The character of Ziba captures the composure, clarity and confidence that comes from her academic eagerness whilst also communicating her insecurities during a time of significant change.

The skill behind Nathwani’s narrative comes from the authenticity of capturing what it is like to be in a diverse group of friends in a diverse London, especially at a time where the pressures of identity and self-discovery can be so different for those from white and non-white backgrounds. We see moments during the film which are doused in relatability, where Ziba feels she has to showcase her capacity to take drugs, to have a drink, to avoid being labelled as a goody two-shoes: a term so incompatible with being a teenager.

Not only does she wish to avoid the connotations of being a ‘bad’ teenager who can’t engage in the spontaneity and impulsivity of the summer, but she wants to reel through a stereotypical bucket list on a day that she has deemed her last. This is where the relatability of Nathwani’s narrative really stands out, spinning the coming-of-age genre on its head. He doesn’t fall into tropes associated with minority narratives where culture is oppressive, or restrictive, or destructive to her identity. But instead, Ziba embraces her Persian roots. Her room is evocative of the average female teenager, interspersed with brief yet deep looks into her personality: the celestial imagery, the protest signs, the Farsi posters – Nathwani’s characterisation shines brightly throughout.

Although it’s arguable that the group of friends, composed of actors Solly McLeod, Jay Lycurgo, Lydia Fleming and Denzel Baidoo, create the occasional abrasiveness or awkwardness that accompanies the instability of adolescence, Nathwani manages to balance out the coming-of-age genre’s yearning and longing with timeless themes of loss, grief and pain and uncertainty.

With an ending that entirely subverts the expectations of the first hour of the film, Last Swim is an exquisite study in how and why authenticity matters for young audiences; thanks to Hekmat’s performance in solidarity with those undercut by the sweeping waves of change. Last Swim will surely pave the way for independent, authentic tales of adolescence in the years to come.