Wunmi Mosaku Joins Oscar-Qualifying Doc Short 'Swim Sistas'

Wunmi Mosaku, the Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning star of Ryan Coogler's 2025 hit "Sinners," has joined the British documentary short "Swim Sistas" as executive producer. The film has qualified for the 99th Academy Awards after premiering at DOC NYC and winning multiple awards on the festival circuit.

Directed by Catherine Joy White ("Bridgerton," "Fifty-Four Days") and narrated by Naomie Harris ("Moonlight"), the documentary celebrates Black women's relationship with swimming. It follows four Black British women: Alice Dearing, Great Britain's first Black female Olympic swimmer; professional rugby player and "The Traitors" contestant Jasmine Boatswain; teenage athlete Lexie Sandiford; and Roni Bruno, who learned to swim at 54. Through their stories, the film explores what its makers describe as the "barriers, histories and joy that shape Black women's relationships with water." Harris also voices Mami Wata, a central poetic figure embodying "ancestral strength and hope for the future," set to original poetry written by White.

"The story of our relationship with swimming and water has so much depth and history, complexity that is so beautifully captured by 'Swim Sistas,'" Mosaku said. "This powerful film and its themes speak personally to me, as I know it does many others, and I could not be more excited to join as executive producer. I believe 'Swim Sistas' will not only move people, but change how they see the world, and I'm proud to help its message reach a wider audience, and support its next chapter."

Why the numbers behind the film matter

What does this change for the conversation around swimming and race in Britain? The film's new executive producer Ash Horne, BAFTA-nominated for "Marion" and "The Second Time Around," pointed to the statistic at the heart of the project.

"Growing up, swimming was something I always took for granted. It was simply part of being a kid and I never really questioned that privilege. So, when I learned that 97% of Black adults and around 80% of Black children in England don't swim regularly, it really struck me," Horne said. "'Swim Sistas' is a beautiful, heartfelt and important documentary that shines a light on this disparity while celebrating community and the joy of swimming."

A festival run building toward the Oscars

Originally announced in Variety, "Swim Sistas" has screened at more than 50 festivals worldwide. Its honors include best documentary at Women X, a BAFTA- and BIFA-qualifying festival, and the jury's choice award at the Thomas Edison Film Festival, an Oscar-qualifying event. The film also completed a 26-cinema theatrical run, screened at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and opened special screenings of "The Little Mermaid" and "The Shape of Water." It featured at the inaugural United Nations Swimmable Cities Summit in Rotterdam and is being incorporated into the French national curriculum.

White praised the newest addition to her team. "Wunmi is a stunning talent. Her work carries such depth and humanity and to have her join forces with 'Swim Sistas' brings another dimension to a world that has always been about so much more than swimming," White said. "We're honoured to have Wunmi on this journey with us as we continue to elevate Black women's voices and reshape the story of who water is for."

Executive producers Afua Hirsch and Amandla Crichlow, founders of Born in Me Productions, added: "Wunmi Mosaku is an actor of such skill and grace, who represents the beauty and power of Black women in a way that has truly universal resonance. We could not be more proud to have her as a partner on 'Swim Sistas.'"

The film is produced by Oriane Pick and Anaïs Ferrato of BAFTA-nominated Candid Broads Productions, with executive producers Hirsch ("Enslaved," "Africa Rising") and Crichlow ("Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul") of Born in Me Productions, alongside White's Forbes 30 Under 30 company Kusini Productions.

Mosaku, also a BAFTA TV award winner for "Damilola, Our Loved Boy," joins as the filmmakers develop plans to expand the project into a documentary series exploring Black women's relationships with water across the U.S., the Caribbean and Africa — a next chapter her name recognition could help carry to a global audience.