Short film / 2026
Birthday Swim
A newly arrived Filipina nurse finds connection and belonging when she attempts to plunge into the cold Irish sea.
Sheena is a Filipina nurse in Ireland, capable and confident at work but worn down by homesickness and the language of a new place. At the harbour, she watches local women take to the cold water together and begins to imagine a way in.
Birthday Swim is a warm, observant short about migration, the fear of rejection, and the generosity that can turn a strange shore into a place of belonging.
The film was made through DLR First Frames, with support from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.