The Compelling New Documentary No Lifeguard Asks: Who Keeps Us Safe In The Water?
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Carl Roberts 
The compelling new documentary, No Lifeguard, will be available on digital this July ahead of World Drowning Prevention Day. Who keeps us safe in the water?
Ed Accura and SpaceDNA Studios are proud to announce their upcoming eye-opening documentary, No Lifeguard. It will be free to watch on YouTube from 12 am on July 23rd. This is two days ahead of World Drowning Prevention Day on July 25th.
Producer Ed Accura (Blacks Can’t Swim, Blacks Can’t Swim: The Sequel, Blacks Can’t Swim: REWIND, Changing The Narrative) didn’t learn to swim until adulthood. That single fact, and the unease it left behind, is the spark for No Lifeguard. This new feature documentary turns one man’s late, hard-won relationship with water into a wider story about who actually keeps us safe when we get in. The film is directed by Mysterex. It was filmed across Ghana, Sri Lanka, and London.
DROWNING
Drowning remains one of the most under-discussed causes of preventable death worldwide. It disproportionately affects children, low-income communities, and those with limited access to swimming lessons.
It presents a seemingly simple idea, expressed with genuine warmth. A lifeguard, the film argues, shouldn’t be one person in red and yellow watching from a chair. It should be all of us, starting with ourselves. No Lifeguard builds that argument through testimony rather than statistics, traveling to two of the regions hit hardest by drowning anywhere in the world.
ED ACCURA
Producer Ed Accura says;
“This film is not about blame. It is about prevention. 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.”
The film grew out of Accura’s own track, No Lifeguard, released as a public service announcement in 2025. Its opening line set the tone for everything that followed. If just one person hears it and thinks twice before entering the water, that’s one fewer potential tragedy. With no outside funding, Accura self-financed the leap from a three-minute song to a 50-minute film. He worked with director Mysterex and local co-directors Ushitha Samudaya in Sri Lanka and Reuben Koomson in Ghana. Together, they brought authentic, community-rooted testimony to the screen.
A CONVERSATION
Back in London, the film’s most pointed conversation unfolds between Accura and Danielle Obe, co-founder alongside him of the Black Swimming Association, a charity working to close the long-documented gap in swimming access and water confidence within Black British communities. The film’s central idea springs from their exchange, showcasing the historical exclusions in water safety messaging and stressing the urgent need for change.
The documentary is bookended by two original songs – the title track and the newly written 1 Life.
No Lifeguard (title track)
1 Life (original song written for the film)
No Lifeguard will be available to watch for free on YouTube at 12 am on July 23rd.
Introducing Carl! As the News Editor at Future of the Force, Carl has been an invaluable member of our team since early 2016. His expertise and dedication have made him an integral part of our editorial staff. Beyond his professional role, Carl is a fervent supporter of Liverpool F.C. and an avid follower of pop culture. He has a deep passion for Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the iconic movie franchises Star Wars and Star Trek.
He can be found either at his neighborhood cinema, enjoying the latest releases on the big screen, or at home streaming the newest blockbuster movies.
