BALTIMORE — 'In Need of Seawater' is an independent documentary short that brings poetry to life through performance, narration and cinematic composition. Inspired by poems written by Mark Anthony Thomas earlier in his career, the film transforms literary work into a visual and emotional experience centered on voice, memory and presence.
The film premieres Saturday, January 10, with an in-person screening at Baltimore's SNF Parkway Theatre at 5 p.m., followed by a national online release later that evening. It is the first installment in a three-part cinematic series examining Thomas's creative work across time, drawing from poems in 'The Poetic Repercussion'.
“These poems were written during a formative period of my life,” said Thomas. “For those who value poetry and literature, the film offers a new way to encounter the work. By translating the poems into a multimedia form, it also opens the material to wider audiences — foregrounding emotional vulnerability and a shared sense of resilience.”
The project was developed through a close collaboration between Thomas and director Richard Yeagley, with producers Scott Burkholder and Dustin Kuhns. Actor Ziaire Mann anchors the film, and its cover art was created by Baltimore-based artist Jeffrey Kent.
“We began by filming an intimate poetry performance,” said Yeagley. “The goal was to make the audience feel present in the room, experiencing the poems firsthand. From there, the film evolved to include additional visual layers — images that function as memory and metaphor.”
Fully produced in Baltimore with local collaborators, the film emphasizes intimacy, voice and lived experience over exposition. Alongside his work as a writer, Thomas has spent more than two decades in senior economic-development and civic-leadership roles and currently serves as president and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee. Watch the trailer.
