Two Brothers, One Swell

James Cunningham Announces New Short Film BENEATH THE WAVES

Beneath the Waves title design by Allan Phin © Presidential Productions

January, 2018 - Independent Australian filmmaker James Cunningham has announced his upcoming short film Beneath the Waves, a visually driven drama exploring brotherhood, estrangement, and unspoken grief against the stark coastline of Western Australia.

Developed throughout 2017, Beneath the Waves follows two Australian brothers who embark on a surfing trip along the remote Western Australian coastline in an attempt to reconnect and bury unresolved grievances. Cunningham's layered script, told entirely without dialogue, will rely on physical action including surfing, proximity and shared space to communicate emotional tension — placing the ocean itself at the centre of the narrative.

Cunningham, whose work frequently interrogates masculinity and psychological fracture, conceives the film as a study in restraint. Rather than verbal confrontation, conflict emerges through gesture, repetition and the physical demands of surfing. Each swell and shifting tide becomes an extension of the brothers’ internal state, with the environment acting as both mirror and catalyst.

The project marked Cunningham’s return to a purely visual storytelling mode, drawing on his background in stage writing and directing in Melbourne while deliberately stripping away spoken language. “The absence of dialogue forces the audience to read bodies, rhythm and distance,” Cunningham has said of the approach. “It places meaning in what is withheld rather than what is explained.”

To be filmed on location along the isolated coastline north of Perth, Beneath the Waves embeds a sense of remoteness into its visual language. Overcast skies and choppy surf will be embraced rather than avoided, reinforcing the film’s somber tone and metaphorical weight.

Produced independently by Presidential Productions, the short film positions surfing not as lifestyle imagery but as a narrative device — an arena in which buried conflict resurfaces and emotional truths are forced into the open.

With its minimalist structure and commitment to physical storytelling, Beneath the Waves will continue Cunningham’s ongoing exploration of male relationships and vulnerability, offering a quiet yet emotionally charged addition to contemporary Australian short filmmaking.

Casting is now underway to play the two brothers portrayed in the film, with Cunningham seeking interest from local Perth surfers both to add skill to the film's surfing scenes as well as adding authenticity to the drama. For more information visit presproductionsco.com

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