If you are in the mood to watch a beautiful painting in the form of a film, Fitch Jean is the person for you. It Comes in Waves is a very powerful film. It portrays themes of memory, grief, identity, and spiritual transcendence. It toils with us emotionally, and dare I say, you may even cry.

Set against the backdrop of the Rwandan diaspora in Canada, Akai (Adrian Walters), his sister Zera (Nendia Lewars) and their mother flee Rwanda to escape the genocide. They reside in Ottawa, Ontario. Upon fleeing, the condition of the mothers health begins to worsen. As Akai is fully aware, the mother tries to hide her condition from Zera to spare her feelings. Along with a struggling mother, the family is forced to navigate through the complexities of immigrant life while confronting intergenerational trauma, family responsibility, and the legacy of displacement. After the mother unfortunately passes, Akai is forced to step up and take care of Zera. How will the two survive?

There are a lot of complex themes presented in this film. The film takes us through the struggles in Rwanda during this time period and how families struggled to escape the genocide. Thankfully this family escapes and makes it to Canada.

However, then the film presents us with the struggles of immigration and adapting to new areas. Along with their many other struggles, Akai and his family are not so welcome in Ottawa.

Furthermore, the film takes its time with building relationships with the three main characters. They are all very complex and we feel for them and cheer for them along the way. This then makes us feel sad when the mother dies, and we grieve her loss right alongside Akai and Zera.  We also are made to then feel the stress behind having to step up and raise Zera. We are met with complex ideas on how we will survive, even though we are not actually the ones in the film.

On the technical side, the cinematography is beautiful. It is a similar style to Moonlight by Berry Jenkins. With a tight budget, the set designers and the cinematographer do an excellent job at bringing the world to life.

If you are looking for a soul crushing story with a heartfelt ending this film is for you.

It Comes in Waves has premiered at a handful of film festivals including American Black Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, Urbanworld Film Festival, Windsor International Film Festival, and the Ottawa Canadian Film Festival.

The most recent festival being at the Royal Theatre in Toronto on October 16th, 2025. The film won five awards: Outstanding Feature Film for director Fitch Jean, Outstanding Feature Actor for Adrian Walters, Outstanding Feature Producer for Amir Zargara, Outstanding Feature Cinematographer for Jelan Maxwell, and Outstanding Feature Writer for Sammy Mohamed.