In his first feature film, Sasha Nathwani, the filmmaker of Last Swim, presents a gripping representation of Gen Z’s difficulties and successes. Filmed on A-Level results day in a hot London, it follows a group of friends about to transform. Nathwani claims that while young people—especially Generation Z—search for a place where they can be themselves, the city he grew up in has become “inaccessible” to many of them.
Deba Hekmat’s British-Iranian teen character Last Swim tracks Ziba and her friends as they savor the last day of utter freedom before they part ways after graduation. Standing on the brink of maturity, they go through turning points of ambition, grief, and difficult decisions. Though the movie was produced by Millennials, Nathwani, who has directed music videos and short films, observes that it is a Gen Z coming-of-age tale.
“The film was developed and made by Millennials, but it’s a Gen Z coming-of-age story,” Nathwani notes. This connects with Gen Z issues since it shows how this generation negotiates a world where every decision seems to have a great impact.
Why Was Nathwani Filming This?
Inspired by his quest to investigate the concept of “lost youth”—that fleeting period of freedom before the weight of maturity falls— Nathwani developed Last Swim. Producer Helen Simmons co-wrote the script, which was developed during the height of the Covid-19 epidemic even though the movie was filmed following easing of lockdown restrictions. Though not about the epidemic, Nathwani stresses that the movie originated during a period when young people all around were witnessing their most formative years being snatched away because of the world problem.
“The world was opening and closing, then opening and closing again when Helen and I were writing it,” notes Nathwani. “There was pressure, and I recall thinking, how must it be for young kids in the park? They all live with their parents; they only spend one day together; tomorrow, the globe will once more close down.”
The movie revolves on this sense of fleeting freedom among uncertainty, and Nathwani asks viewers, “If you had one day to reclaim your youth, what would you do?” The Gen Z challenges find great resonance in this question since this generation must negotiate their future in a world that seems progressively unfriendly.
How Has the Pandemic Affected Gen Z?
Nathwani expresses his opinion that things have only gotten worse for the present generation as he considers how the epidemic affected the life of young people. “I felt that the world was fraught when we were making it, when we were writing it, and now it’s going out into the world, there’s an argument that things are even worse now,” Nathwani says.
Growing up in London, Nathwani remembers a city that seemed free and full of possibilities in his early years. The streets did not seem “inaccessible,” and he did not have the same difficulties Gen Z does now. “Now I not even know how a young person has 24 hours of freedom without breaking the budget,” he notes. Gen Z issues feel even more noticeable given the rising cost of living and the difficulty of finding opportunities in an economy changing.
Nathwani points out how the issue in cost of living aggravates Gen Z’s problems even more. Apart from the fact that items cost much more than when he was younger, there are less chances as well. A basic component of every young person’s development, education has grown increasingly difficult to attain given sky-high tuition rates and general financial hardship on youth.
“You see that in the movie as Ziva and her buddies are heading their different ways,” Nathwani says. Their futures are unknown, and they have to negotiate a world barred to many avenues. Young people nowadays feel strongly about these issues, hence they are not only theoretical; Last Swim provides a glimpse into those realities.
According to the most recent data, what challenges do young people face?
Recent studies back up Nathwani’s observations on the difficulties confronting Generation Z. According to a 2023 Oxford University study, young people’s mental health suffered during the three COVID-19 lockdowns in the UK compared to a comparable study done before the epidemic. Between October and December 2024, around one in seven 16–24-year-olds were neither in work, school, nor training, according to the most recent Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates. These numbers depict a bleak picture of the workforce and educational system Gen Z will encounter going forward.
Furthermore, estimates from the King’s Trust charity in February 2025 revealed that a sizable majority of 1625-year-oldsy expressed daily anxiety about their future. This constant anxiousness is a sign of Gen Z problems, made worse by the epidemic and the ever-unstable economic climate.
How might Gen Z help Last Swim?
Deba Hekmat, a 21-year-old Kurdish-British model and actor, plays the lead part of Ziba, highlighting other up-and-coming Gen Z talents. Renowned for her part in Gangs of London, Narges Rashid plays Ziba’s mother. The way Hekmat presents Ziba hits the core of what it is to be a young person on the brink of adulthood in a demanding environment. When she considers her own experiences, Hekmat notes, “There have been things thrust at us, but also taken away as a generation. That is true of me, but when I see my brothers, my heart truly becomes sensitive to the young. My brothers were in adolescence during Covid; their personal and educational lives saw so many changes regardless. Then, for all of that to happen. They just turned 18 and 20 years old.
“We’re all still regrouping and refiguing ourselves,” she says. Given many of Gen Z’s young people had their formative years interrupted, Hekmat’s attitude emphasizes the emotional weight that comes with their challenges.
How did the Director use Method Authenticity in the Film?
Filming Last Swim in the scorching heat of the UK summer in 2022, Nathwani sought to faithfully portray young culture. Using a mix of vehicle, bike, and train travel, the movie transports viewers to classic London locations, including Portobello Road, Hampstead Heath, and Primrose Hill. The teenage actors were allowed a lot of latitude to contribute their voices and points of view to the movie, therefore infusing the screenplay with improvisation and realism.
Nathwani concurs with the evaluation from Screen Daily, which labels the movie “guerrilla ingenuity.” He says the teenage actors were permitted to edit the script to guarantee the language seemed as accurate to their real-life experiences as may be.
“Whenever you tell a story about young characters, you need to give them a certain amount of flexibility,” notes Nathwani. “We would then pen that into the script if there was a more natural way of delivering a line in a language they would more authentically use.” Should the lines or scenes not fit their characters, the performers were also urged to question the decisions Nathwani and Simmons took.
What Does Last Swim Say About Gen Z Friendship?
Last Swim’s treatment of Gen Z friendship is among its most engaging features. Saying, “This is Gen Z friendship on screen,” Hekmat notes the close bonds among the protagonists. Sasha claims that his [Millennial] generation is the one of hard knocks and that they did not grow up with the belief that daily activities should take mental health into account. Just the camaraderie I have shared with the rest of the gang shows me how closely this movie relates to Generation Z.
She says, “The lads aren’t hesitant to open a bit more; they’re not embarrassed to ask each other about their emotions. It reflects our friendships in the manner in which we can communicate with one another. As Gen Z tries to negotiate the complexity of mental health, relationships, and future uncertainty, this transparency in friendships testifies to the emotional depth of their challenges.
What lesson from Last Swim in Today's World applies here?
Last Swim, Nathwani believes, would explore the deeper emotional reality of growing up in modern society while also capturing the vitality and exuberance of youth. “That’s the amazing thing about that unusual period between school and further study,” he says, “because the link you have with friends from school will never be closer, tighter than it is during that summer. And the instant summer fades, those ties often break since people travel different paths.”
For Nathwani, the challenges Gen Z faces today—whether they be financial ones, mental health problems, or pressure to perform in a growingly competitive world—are far more significant than most people would have you know. “In the context of what’s happening in the UK, but across the world too, I think that’s challenging for young people, more so than I think we visualize.”
Using Last Swim, Nathwani aims to convey a narrative that speaks to the particular hardships and victories of Generation Z, who still encounter events influencing their identities and destinies.
