‘Saltwata Vibes’ Documentary From Simeon And Sara Makeba Daise To Explore Gullah Geechee Culture; Slated For 2023 Release

Valerie Complex
·2 min read
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Brother Sister duo and children of Ron and Natalie Daise, from popular 1990s Nickelodeon TV show Gullah Gullah Island–Simeon Daise (CW All American, FX Snowfall, ‘Cheaper by the Dozen’) and Sara Makeba Daise are teaming up to executive produce Saltwata Vibes.

The siblings will document their journey exploring their Gullah Geechee identity, the culture, it’s evolution, traditions, challenges, and their journey of crafting a generationally relevant cultural identity and the messiness of modernizing a culture. The documentary will be directed by Sherard “Shekeese” Duvall who is also a producer. Saltwata Vibes is now filming in South Carolina and is slated for a Spring 2023 release.

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As their generation of Gullah Geechee face the challenges of finding an identity when you are born within a culture, that is within a culture, that is within a culture – this documentary will take them from South Carolina to Sierra Leone and back.

Saltwata Vibes follows Sara and Simeon as they travel to their home on St. Helena Island, to Simeon’s stomping grounds in Los Angeles, all the way to their ancestral home Sierra Leone. In search of a past that may be able to inspire the future. Today, they represent a new era of African-Americans from the Sea Island coast, raised in Gullah Geechee cultural traditions, immersed in its stories and language. Their generation is now asking, where is our identity inside this inherited blend of West African and South Carolina cultures, fused through slavery, commodified through tourism, and now influenced by a modern, mediated world? They have teamed up with a diverse team of Gullah Geechee experts, music historians, linguists, and musicologists to help navigate the narrative of the film with accurate cultural and historical context.

“As a Public Historian and Afrofuturist,” states Sara, “I’m excited to highlight that the evolution, creativity, and agency of Gullah Geechee people and culture is as important as the incredibly significant history.” Simeon adds, “Gullah culture has been the inspiration and foundation behind so much cultural evolution and progress. Our culture is seemingly a goldmine that everyone has cashed in on, except for us.”

Saltwata Vibes will also introduce us to renowned scholars that talk about the evolution of culture and language, chefs that are reviving Gullah cuisine, musicians, fashion designers and LGBT activists who are actively redefining inherited cultures and remaking what it means to identify as Gullah Geechee.

The Puffin Foundation, SC Arts Commission, Southern Documentary Fund, SC Humanities Council, will finance.

Sherard Duvall is represented by OTR Media Group and Simeon Daise is represented by Innovative Artists.

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