Waves

"Waves" was born from a personal mental health crisis. On one of the darkest nights of my life, I found myself alone - overwhelmed by depression, anger, and pain so intense I couldn't breathe. Professional therapy was financially out of reach. The free mental health resources in Kenya either didn't work or didn't exist. My support system was asleep. The only thing accessible at 2 AM was an AI chatbot. That conversation became my lifeline - not because AI replaced human connection, but because in that moment, it was the only support available that could hold space for my pain without judgment, without cost, without barriers.

"Waves" is a 2-3 minute animated short film that follows a woman battling a catastrophic storm at sea. As waves crash over her boat and she struggles to survive, a gentle voice guides her through self-soothing techniques - placing her hand on her chest, listening to her heartbeat, breathing through the fear. When the storm finally calms, the perspective shifts: she's been in her bedroom the entire time, wrapped in blankets, her phone beside her showing an AI chat interface. The ocean was a metaphor for her mental health crisis, and the guiding voice was an AI chatbot - the only support she could access in that moment. The film explores the intersection of technology, mental health, and the systemic barriers that force people to seek help in unconventional places. It's both a visualization of internal struggle and a commentary on what happens when traditional support systems fail.

I developed the concept and script from lived experience, translating the visceral feeling of a mental health crisis into visual metaphor. Using AI tools, I created a production pipeline that democratized filmmaking: Claude AI, LTX Studio, Midjourney, Nanobanana, KlingAi, Eleven Labs, Adobe Podcast and Capcut.

The challenges were mostly around the costs of Generative AI.

I made a shortfilm!!! Alone. From a personal disaster. That's mt accomplishment

I learned that Perfectionism is a myth and art is art.

Waves has been submitted to other competitions. Really hoping for a win!

Built With

• adobepodcast
• elevenlabs
• generativeai
• kling
• ltxstudio
• midjourney
• nanobanana