"Samba likes to start off his projects with poetry, translating emotion onto the page before raising his camera. Each of the tennis players captured in the film is depicted like a statue, with a raise of a racket featured as a nod to New York's Lady Liberty. The outlines of moving figures are caught in silhouettes, carrying architectural visual language. Samba says: "The intention with the silhouettes in the piece was to mirror New York itself, half in light, half in shadow.""
"The film is a love letter to sport in the city, baked in its shadows under the burning sun. Sweat can be considered another character, too. Players glimmer in beads of it whilst moving like Greco-Roman sculptures, showing the fatigue of fight and perseverance. "Add the physical layer on top, and it becomes both calculated and fierce poetry," Samba shares. The symmetry, mirroring and liquidity makes this fierceness come alive. There's no dialogue, but the work speaks for itself."
Samba starts projects with poetry, translating emotion onto the page before raising his camera. Each tennis player appears sculptural, their raised rackets evoking New York's Lady Liberty and silhouettes that mirror the city's architecture. The film treats sweat as a character, with players glimmering like Greco-Roman sculptures to reveal fatigue, fight, and perseverance. Physicality adds a layer that becomes calculated and fierce poetry. Symmetry, mirroring, and liquidity animate the fierceness. Naomi Osaka's gladiatorial determination and inner solitude are captured, linking athletic struggle to mental-health awareness. Inspirations include Ousmane Sembène, piano and jazz, Mariama Bâ, and Jane Goodall, shaping Samba's narrative development.
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