CINECITY 2022: Vindication Swim+Q&A

Swimming the English Channel is widely recognised to be one of the toughest long distance challenges. In 1927, a Brighton - born swimmer became the first British woman to achieve this goal and her fight for recognition is celebrated in this engaging new biopic. Mercedes Gleitze faces challenges in and out of the water as she contends with the p atriarchal attitudes of 1920s England. Her achievements are questioned when a rival, Edith Gade, claims that she has also completed the Channel swim. After media attacks, Gleitze is forced to undertake another swim to safeguard her sporting reputation. T he film includes all the much - loved elements of a sporting biopic - an arduous training schedule, the growing trust between Gleitze and her trainer, Harold Best, and the high stakes once the swim is underway. Brighton - based director Elliott Hasler makes th e most of picturesque Sussex locations , and rises to the challenge of the film’s technical requirements. The sequences shot at sea skil l fully create a sense of being right there alongside Gleitze in the water. Vindication Swim is the uplifting story of a f emale trailblazer. Followed by Q&A with Director Elliott Hasler.